WUHAN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in the treatment of the novel coronavirus patients in Hubei, the hardest-hit province, with TCM applied on 91.91 percent of the patients, the provincial health authorities said at a press conference on Friday.

TCM treatment has been given to 99 percent of patients in makeshift hospitals in the province, and 94 percent of people in the quarantine venues for prevention, said Tu Yuanchao, deputy head of the provincial health commission.

The makeshift hospitals were converted from public venues such as exhibition centers and gymnasiums in early February in an effort to treat patients with mild symptoms and isolate the source of infections amid strained medical resources.

By the closure of the last two hospitals Tuesday, the temporary hospitals in Wuhan have received a total of more than 12,000 patients, according to local authorities.

TCM experts are working on promoting the treatment in the recovery process of patients, in coordination with Western medicine, Tu said.

The new confirmed cases in the province dropped to five on Thursday, with no new confirmed cases for eight consecutive days in its 16 cities and prefectures outside Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak.