BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The total number of suspected cases of novel coronavirus infections has dropped in China, with fewer people still under medical observation, a health official said Friday.
The number of newly reported suspected cases outside Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had dropped day by day across the country, from the peak of 2,211 on Feb. 6 to Thursday's 335, Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference held in Beijing.
Meanwhile, the number of people still under medical observation has continued to decline in China. The number, which peaked at 190,000 on Feb. 7, fell to 120,000 on Wednesday, according to Zeng.
"The data shows that the overall epidemic situation is developing toward a positive prospect nationwide, and the trend of the outbreak is under control," said Zeng, adding that some regions at the municipal and provincial levels had no new confirmed cases reported.
Noting that there are still many new deaths in the hard-hit Hubei and its capital city of Wuhan, Zeng stressed the need to continuously pay close attention to them.
