Medical workers take care of a COVID-19 patient whose nucleic acid test result has turned negative in a ward at the west campus of the Union Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 24, 2020. (SHEN BOHAN / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, the central China city hardest hit by the epidemic, has dropped to zero, a health official said Sunday.

The result was achieved with the hard efforts of medical workers in Wuhan and those who were dispatched to assist Wuhan in the fight against the virus from across the country, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for China's National Health Commission, at a press conference in Beijing.

The last patient in serious condition in Wuhan was cured Friday, reducing the number of such patients in the city to zero

ALSO READ: Holiday travels warm up in China as epidemic wanes

The last patient in serious condition in Wuhan was cured Friday, reducing the number of such patients in the city to zero.

In Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, the number of existing COVID-19 cases has dropped below 50 for the first time. No new confirmed cases of the disease have been reported for over 20 days in the province.

READ MORE: Absurd to sue China over virus

China had reported a total of 82,827 confirmed cases on the mainland by Saturday, of which 801 patients were still being treated and 77,394 people had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.