BEIJING — The average hospital stay of discharged patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia ranges from five to 20 days in different Chinese regions, Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), said on Feb 4 at a press conference.

Statistics showed that patients in Hainan province spent five days on average in the hospital before being discharged, while hospital stays for those in Hubei province where the virus was first detected lasted for 20 days, Jiao said.

Those infected with the virus outside Hubei are hospitalized for an average of just over nine days, she added.

The longer hospital stay of the infected in Hubei is closely related to the fact that the province has more patients in severe condition compared with other regions, Jiao noted.

Moreover, longer hospital stays were attributed to stricter discharge criteria for patients in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

According to the national clinical diagnosis and treatment requirements, patients are allowed to be discharged when the symptoms disappear and the nucleic acid test shows a negative result twice.

Patients in Wuhan are asked to remain in the hospital for another 10 to 12 days after they meet the national discharge criteria, Jiao said.

A total of 632 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospitals after recovery by the end of Feb 3, the NHC said in its daily report, adding that Feb 3 saw 157 people discharged from hospitals after recovery, 101 of which were in Hubei.