Xi made the remark while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing. It was the second such meeting in 10 days regarding the battle against the outbreak, with the number of cumulative confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland reaching 17,205, including 361 deaths as of Sunday. Xi stressed that the epidemic prevention and control efforts directly matter to people's lives, health, overall socioeconomic stability and the country's opening-up drive. Participants at the meeting also called for strengthening community-based prevention and control efforts and make every effort to prevent the spread of the virus amid the massive population flows after the Spring Festival holiday, the statement said. The meeting also underlined the need to closely monitor the impact of the outbreak on the nation's economy.

Source: The Star February 04, 2020 03:11 UTC