Medical staff cheer before going into an ICU ward for coronavirus patients at the Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province
Wuhan, the city hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak in the country, cleared all COVID-19 cases in hospital on Sunday.
This came as a 77-year-old man surnamed Ding tested negative for the second time for coronavirus in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province. He no longer had clinical symptoms and was able to be discharged, an official with Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said.
A staff member sprays disinfectant on empty beds after all patients left Leishenshan Hospital
Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in Beijing that the outcome was earned through the hard work of medical workers in Wuhan and those sent from across the country to the city.
This came five days after the cases in Wuhan dropped to double digits and less than 70 days after the daily cases in Hubei Province peaked at 50,633, of which 38,020 were in Wuhan.
As of the end of Saturday, Wuhan had reported a total of 50,333 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths. The cure rate has topped 92.3 percent.
A local medical worker bids farewell to a medical worker from Jiangsu at Wuhan Railway Station, as the medical team from Jiangsu leaves the city
In Hubei, no new confirmed cases have been reported for over 20 days, and the number of remaining cases dropped below 50.
Across China, 82,827 confirmed cases had been reported on the mainland. A total of 801 patients were still being treated, and 77,394 people had been discharged from hospitals after recovery by Saturday.