NANCHANG/JINAN, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A patient diagnosed with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia was discharged from a hospital in east China's Jiangxi Province on Monday, marking the first cured patient in the province.

The 38-year-old male from Xingan county drove a friend to the city of Honghu in Hubei Province on Jan. 3 and returned to Xingan on Jan. 5. Soon after, he developed symptoms including fever, cough and chest tightness. He was diagnosed with novel coronavirus pneumonia and transferred to the provincial-level designated hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, on Jan. 23.

The patient was in critical condition when he was first transferred to the hospital, said Xu Fei, deputy director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the hospital. His condition improved significantly after treatment and met the standards for de-segregation and discharge of confirmed cases of pneumonitis infected with novel coronavirus of the National Health Commission, according to Xu.

In east China's Shandong Province, a 37-year-old male patient was cured and ready to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday, officials said at a press conference held by the provincial government on Monday.

The patient is a native of Wuhan City but works in the Shandong city of Rizhao. He was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus pneumonia on Jan. 21.

A total of 2,744 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were reported as of Monday. Eighty people died and 51 patients have recovered.