WUHAN, (Xinhua) — Central China’s Hubei Province, center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 2,097 new confirmed cases and 103 new deaths on Monday, local health authorities said Tuesday.

Monday’s number of new confirmed cases in the hardest-hit province was the fewest in nine days. The province registered 1,921 new confirmed cases on Feb. 1, and the figure had since remained above 2,100 until Monday.

The provincial capital Wuhan reported 1,552 new infections and 67 new deaths, and the cities of Xiaogan and Huanggang reported 101 and 80 new confirmed cases, respectively, according to the Hubei Provincial Health Commission.

The commission also said 3,390 suspected cases of infection were ruled out on Monday after testing.

The province saw 427 patients discharged from hospital after recovery on Monday. It had seen 2,222 patients discharged after recovery from hospital by Monday.

Hubei had 31,728 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection by Monday, with 974 deaths and 6,344 cases still in severe or critical conditions. In breakdown, the total number of confirmed cases in Wuhan reached 18,454, followed by 2,642 in Xiaogan and 2,332 in Huanggang.