Medical workers from Jiangsu province work at an ICU ward of the First Hospital of Wuhan City in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Feb 22, 2020. (XIAO YIJIU / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hubei province outside Wuhan, the provincial capital, as well as the number of new cases reported outside Hubei have both dropped to single-digit figures for the first time, indicating a positive trend in China's fight against the novel coronavirus, according to the National Health Commission.

On Thursday, nine new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported outside Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the commission, said Friday at a press conference in Beijing.

Next, efforts will continuously be made in community prevention and control, medical treatment and other aspects to prevent the epidemic from rebounding.

Mi Feng, Spokesperson, National Health Commission, China

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Hubei province reported five new confirmed cases outside Wuhan on the same day, he said.

There were 39,919 confirmed cases on the mainland by the end of Thursday, of which 7,952 were severe cases, he said, adding that 2,308 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

Mi also said that Wuhan had 30,179 confirmed cases by the end of Thursday, of which 6,775 were severe cases, with 1,488 suspected cases.

"Next, efforts will continuously be made in community prevention and control, medical treatment and other aspects to prevent the epidemic from rebounding," Mi said.

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