Medical workers wave goodbye to their friends and relatives before leaving for Hubei to aid in the novel coronavirus epidemic control efforts, at Taiyuan Wusu International Airport in north China's Shanxi province, Feb 18, 2020. (ZHAN YAN / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The novel coronavirus epidemic in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, has been gradually brought under control, according to a spokesperson for the National Health Commission.

Mi Feng made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing Wednesday, citing the epidemic data in the province over the past week.

The daily count of new cases of recovered patients who had been discharged from hospital in Hubei, excluding the capital city of Wuhan, has exceeded the number of new confirmed cases for four consecutive days as of Wednesday, said a National Health Commission spokesperson

The daily count of new cases of recovered patients who had been discharged from hospital in Hubei, excluding the capital city of Wuhan, has exceeded the number of new confirmed cases for four consecutive days as of Wednesday, said Mi.

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He also noted that the number of newly confirmed cases has decreased significantly since Feb 13 in areas besides Wuhan, and the increase in the cumulative number of confirmed cases has remained flat.

It shows that with the implementation of various prevention and control measures and the strengthening of incoming medical support, the epidemic situation in Hubei has been brought under control and the recovery rate has continuously improved, said Mi.

Tuesday saw 1,693 new confirmed cases in Hubei, including 1,660 in Wuhan. Among the 1,266 new cases of patients who had recovered and had been discharged from hospital, 676 of them were reported in Wuhan. 

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In Huanggang, one of the hardest-hit cities in Hubei, 118 patients were discharged from hospital after recovery on Tuesday, marking the fifth consecutive day with more than 100 people discharged from hospital each day in Huanggang.

 As of Tuesday, 1,059 patients had been discharged from hospital in the city, accounting for 37.2 percent of the total confirmed cases, according to the municipal health commission.