BEIJING — The proportion of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 in the virus-hit city of Wuhan, other places in Hubei province, and other provincial-level regions in China outside Hubei, has increased for 19 consecutive days as of March 3, Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), said on March 4.

By the end of March 3, the cure rate in the epicenter Wuhan had ascended to 50.2 percent, while the number has reached 76.8 percent in the rest of Hubei province, Mi said at a press conference in Beijing.

Outside Hubei, China has seen 87.3 percent of the confirmed cases recovering from the disease by March 3, Mi said.

Mi added that the country will consolidate upon its successes, continue to strengthen treatment for patients with severe symptoms while adhering to the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine to enhance the cure rate.

China has seen a total of 49,856 patients recovered from COVID-19 and discharged from hospitals in China by March 3, according to the NHC's daily report.