Hunan province neighboring Hubei province declared clear of confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday when its last five patients were cured and discharged from hospital, while Yunnan province in Southwest China also was declared clear of virus patients on the same day.

According to the provinces' health commissions, Hunan had a total of 1,018 confirmed cases of the disease - four deaths and 1,014 cured, while Yunnan had 174 confirmed cases - 172 cured and two deaths.

As of Saturday afternoon, another eight provinces and regions in China have also declared clear of coronavirus patients - Tibet autonomous region, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region (as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), Macao Special Administrative Region and provinces of Qinghai, Fujian, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shanxi, reported Beijing Daily on Saturday.

The confirmed cases in Tibet and Qinghai were brought to zero in February while the rest reported zero confirmed cases this month, the report said.