Recovered patients thank doctors with a banner before being discharged. [Photo by Wang Dongdong/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Six novel coronavirus pneumonia patients from a single family in Ningde, Fujian province, have recovered and have been discharged from a hospital on Wednesday in what is perhaps the first such instance.

According to Eastern Fujian Hospital, among the family, the oldest is 66 and the youngest 13. The youngest was confirmed positive for the novel coronavirus on Feb 1 and the other five were hospitalized shortly thereafter.

The family said they quarantined themselves at home at first.

"Since the patients differ in age and symptoms, we personalized treatment in accordance with patients' conditions while taking the latest national treatment plan for the novel coronavirus into consideration," said Xiao Jianhong, director of the experts group at Eastern Fujian Hospital.

According to the hospital, the six were discharged after being evaluated by the provincial experts group after meeting the national standard for discharging.

Huang Siyu contributed to this story.