'Considerable progress'

"Closing the hospital means we have made considerable progress in epidemic control in Wuhan," said Xu Junmei, vice-president of the hospital. "Temporary hospitals have greatly eased pressure on designated hospitals to receive and treat patients, which made it possible to treat and isolate all people in need. They were the life vessels during the peak of the epidemic."

Following strict lockdown measures that have lasted for more than two months, the epidemic has been brought under control in the city.

There have been no reported new cases of COVID-19 in the city over most of the past two weeks, and only 31 new cases were reported across the Chinese mainland on Sunday. During the epidemic's peak in mid-February, nearly 4,000 new cases were reported in Wuhan each day, according to the National Health Commission.

As of Sunday, 50,006 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Wuhan since the start of the outbreak in December, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total cases on the Chinese mainland, according to the commission.

Feng, once a patient at Wuchang Fangcang Hospital, said that in the first few days after being admitted the beds were always occupied in the section where he stayed. Empty beds started to become available a week later, when patients recovered and left and the number of new patients decreased, he said.

"Only patients who tested positive for the virus could be admitted," he said. "Most patients had mild symptoms, such as cough and fever, but some of them did not show any abnormalities at all."