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 on Sunday.

China's Wuhan, the city hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak in the country, cleared all COVID-19 cases in hospital on Sunday.

This came as a 77-year-old man surnamed Ding tested negative for the second time for coronavirus in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province. He no longer had clinical symptoms and was able to be discharged, an official with Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said.

Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in Beijing that the outcome was earned through the hard work of medical workers in Wuhan and those sent from across the country to the city.

Sunday's announcement was a milestone for the city hardest hit by the epidemic.

This came five days after the cases in Wuhan dropped to double digits and less than 70 days after the daily cases in Hubei Province peaked at 50,633, of which 38,020 were in Wuhan.

"It is a historic day," said Shang You, a critical care unit doctor in Wuhan. "We have been waiting for this day for so long."

As of the end of Saturday, Wuhan had reported a total of 50,333 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths. The cure rate has topped 92.3 percent.

In Hubei, no new confirmed cases have been reported for over 20 days, and the number of remaining cases dropped below 50.

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