BEIJING — The number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition in Wuhan, the Central China city once hardest hit by the epidemic, has dropped to zero, a health official said on April 24.

The last patient in serious condition in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, was cured on April 24, reducing the number of such patients in the city to zero, said Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference in Beijing.

According to the commission's daily report issued earlier on April 24, the last patient in severe condition in Wuhan was also the only severe case in Hubei as of April 23.

No new confirmed cases were reported on April 23 in Hubei and there are no suspected cases in the province, according to the NHC.

It was the 20th consecutive day for the province to report no new confirmed or suspected cases, said Mi.

In the meantime, the number of confirmed cases in Hubei dropped to 47 on April 23, which was below 50 for the first time, Mi said.

In the last 10 days, the number of imported cases in China has gradually dropped. However, there are still reports of domestically transmitted confirmed cases with connections to imported ones, Mi said.

All-around efforts should be made to thoroughly track the confirmed, suspected and asymptomatic cases and their close contacts so as to eliminate potential risks, he added.