BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Wuhan, the Chinese city hardest-hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, Monday marked its fifth day in a row of zero new confirmed cases, a Chinese health official said Monday.

No new confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in the hard-hit Hubei Province or Wuhan City for five consecutive days, Mi Feng, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference in Beijing.

Arduous efforts have been made since Wuhan was locked down two months ago, Mi said, adding that the number of existing infected cases kept decreasing.

However, zero new COVID-19 cases do not mean there is no risk, Mi said.

There are still potential risks of spreading and even cluster outbreaks, Mi noted, adding that there is still hard work ahead in epidemic prevention and control.