A brief ceremony is held to celebrate the full recovery of an NCP patient at the Haimen People's Hospital on Feb 15. [Photo/WeChat account: haimenfabu]

A Wuhan resident surnamed Qiu made a full recovery from the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in Haimen, a county-level city in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, on Feb 15.

Qiu was the first NCP patient to be successfully treated at a local hospital in Haimen. Most patients have been receiving treatment at medical institutions in downtown Nantong.

Qiu left Wuhan, the city hardest hit by the epidemic in China, for Haimen on Jan 19 and was quarantined after experiencing a fever at the Haimen People's Hospital on Feb 1.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was a major part of the treatment for Qiu, according to Sun Feixiang, head of the TCM department at the hospital.

"We used different drugs and doses at different stages. At first, the treatment was aimed at alleviating the patient’s symptoms. When her body temperature became normal, the emphasis turned to strengthening her spleen and stomach functions and improving her immune system," Sun explained.

Despite having passed strict examinations and testing negative for the virus twice before leaving the hospital, Qiu must still be quarantined for 14 days in strict accordance with medical standards to avoid reinfection.