A male patient infected with the novel coronavirus has been discharged from hospital in Xiushan county in Chongqing after 10 days treatment and isolation, according to officials in the Southwest Chinese city.

They said the 31-year-old patient returned home from Wuhan city on Jan 19 with a fever and was admitted to the People's Hospital of Xiushan county.

He was the first case of the coronavirus discovered in Chongqing and is also the first patient in the city to recover from the virus since the start of the outbreak.

An expert group visited the patient at the hospital a second time on Feb 1. They confirmed his symptoms had diminished and subsequent tests for the virus were found to be negative.

The southwestern city reported 25 new cases of the coronavirus from 12 am to 12 pm on Feb 3, according to a statement from the Chongqing Health Commission.