Patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus pneumonia celebrate with medical workers before they are discharged from a temporary hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Feb 11, 2020. (ZHU XINGXIN / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China has removed the category of clinically diagnosed cases from its latest edition of diagnosis and treatment plan for the novel coronavirus.

Clinically diagnosed cases, which were included in the fifth edition of the plan earlier this month only for the hardest-hit Hubei province, refer to suspected cases with pneumonia-related computerized tomography (CT) scan results.

The latest diagnosis standard is now the same nationwide, which only includes suspected cases and confirmed cases, said Wang Guiqiang, director of the infectious disease department of the Peking University First Hospital

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Speaking at a Thursday press conference in Beijing, Wang Guiqiang, director of the infectious disease department of the Peking University First Hospital, explained the changes in the sixth edition of the plan.

Wang said the category was created to offer patients waiting for the nucleic acid testing timely treatment to reduce the mortality rate.

The situation in the province, however, had changed and the capacity of nucleic acid testing had been greatly improved, said Wang.

The latest diagnosis standard is now the same nationwide, which only includes suspected cases and confirmed cases, Wang said.

READ MORE: Hubei sees big drop in new cases with 349 infections reported

As of the end of Wednesday, Hubei had 49,665 confirmed cases and 3,456 suspected cases.