The number of COVID-19 patients has declined significantly at many medical facilities, from fever clinics and emergency centers to critical care wards across China, a health official said on Thursday.

Guo Yanhong, director of the National Health Commission's medical emergency department, said the number of patients seeking treatment at fever clinics fell 94 percent on Tuesday from its peak on Dec 23 and has returned to levels seen before Dec 7, when China announced major changes to its epidemic control policy.

The number of patients at emergency centers dropped 44 percent from its peak on Jan 2, she said at a news conference in Beijing.

COVID-19 hospitalizations reached a climax on Jan 5, but the number of patients has since declined 44.3 percent as of Tuesday, Guo said.

The proportion of non-COVID-19 outpatients reached 99.5 percent on Tuesday, while 85 percent of hospitalizations were for conditions other than COVID-19, she said, adding that the number of surgeries rose 20 percent between Dec 7 and Tuesday.