LANZHOU -- Benefitting from the combination of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 have turned to moderate from severe as of Sunday in northwest China's Gansu Province, local authorities said Monday.

From Oct. 18 to the end of Sunday, Gansu had logged 105 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, with eight of them in severe condition and two in critical condition. All patients have been receiving TCM treatment at designated hospitals.

According to Zhang Zhongde, an expert with the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 in Gansu, there are more elderly patients during the latest COVID-19 resurgence in the province. Most of them are over 50 with underlying diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and chronic lung diseases.

He highlighted the vital role of TCM during this much harder treatment fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

"We have incorporated Western medicine and TCM in our treatment, effectively preventing the development of severe cases from becoming critically ill," he said.

He added that TCM helps to ease symptoms of cough, dry mouth, and pharyngitis. For patients with fever, body temperature control can be achieved within 36 to 48 hours.

Gansu province is a major TCM production base in China and has a long history of growing herbs used in the Chinese system of medicine. TCM has been widely applied to treat COVID-19 patients in China and has proved effective.