Medical workers cheer themselves up at Wuhan No. 7 Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo by Xiong Fang/Xinhua)
In Wuhan, the number of newly confirmed cases peaked at 3,910 on Feb. 13 and dropped to 313 on Feb. 27, while the number of newly cured patients discharged from hospital has exceeded that of the newly confirmed cases for the eighth consecutive day since Feb. 20.
WUHAN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The rapid rise in the novel coronavirus cases in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, has been contained, China's health official said Friday.
Liang Wannian, head of the Chinese expert panel on outbreak response and disposal, said at a press conference Friday that Wuhan is the center of the outbreak and also the worst-hit city.
However, the number of daily new confirmed infections, new suspected cases, the proportion of severe and critical cases in confirmed cases, and the mortality rate have all been declining, he said.
"These four figures indicate that the epidemic is being effectively controlled," Liang said.
In Wuhan, the number of newly confirmed cases peaked at 3,910 on Feb. 13 and dropped to 313 on Feb. 27, while the number of newly cured patients discharged from hospital has exceeded that of the newly confirmed cases for the eighth consecutive day since Feb. 20, according to Liang.
The proportion of severe cases among confirmed patients has been continuously falling from 31.6 percent on Feb. 11 to 22.4 percent on Feb. 27. The fatality rate has also dropped from a peak of 9 percent on Jan. 26 to 4.4 percent to date, he added.
Liang said that based on their research, the local outbreak of the deadly virus in Hubei, except Wuhan, had also been contained, adding that the number of newly confirmed infections outside Wuhan has dropped to five per day from over 1,400 on Feb. 12 and the fatality rate has also declined to 3.1 percent on Feb. 27.
The whole country (excluding Hubei) has seen a rapid decline in newly reported confirmed cases, which dropped from 890 cases on Feb. 3, the peak, to nine cases. The newly recovered and discharged patients have also outnumbered the newly confirmed patients for the 16th consecutive day starting from Feb. 12.
No new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in 24 provincial-level regions of China on Feb. 27.
However, the expert team believes that zero growth does not mean zero risk.
"The epidemic prevention and control situation in China remains grim and complex and there are still uncertainties. Therefore, we should not be blindly optimistic and the prevention and control work must continue," Liang said. ■