Mr. Dong, a recovered coronavirus patient, poses for photos with medical workers after he donated his plasma at a hospital in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 19, 2020. Dong, 42, is the first recovered patient who donated his plasma after recovery from coronavirus in Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)

BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's daily new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) outside Hubei, the epicenter province of the outbreak, have dropped for 16 consecutive days, according to the National Health Commission Thursday.

A total of 45 new confirmed cases were reported on Wednesday outside Hubei, down from 890 on Feb. 3, showed figures from the commission.

The commission said it received reports of 394 new confirmed cases on Wednesday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, sharply down from 1,749 on Tuesday.

Hubei reported 349 new cases on Wednesday, down from 1,693 of a day earlier.