On the afternoon of 17 February, the State Council inter-agency task force on responding to the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP, or COVID-19) outbreak held a press briefing on the latest progress in medical treatment of NCP cases.

According to Guo Yanhong, a senior supervisor with the Bureau of Medical Administration of the National Health Commission, the proportion of severe cases has dropped from the initial 38% to 18%through recent efforts of early diagnosis and treatment and through continuous medical observation of hospitalized patients with mild symptoms. Early detection, reporting, quarantine and treatment of cases, as well as the practice of pooling resources, high-caliber experts and medical facilities to treat patients with severe conditions have proved effective in raising the hospital admission and cure rates and lowering the infection and case fatality rates. According to latest statistics,more than 10,000 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital, and the number of new confirmed cases outside Hubei has recorded a 13-day consecutive drop.These are all very good signs, showing that the control efforts have produced good results. More specifically, for the cured and discharged cases, it takes an average of 4.95 days for a patient to be confirmed of infection after showing symptoms.This shows that quicker diagnosis and timely treatment are also very effective measures to increase the cure rate.