Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged concrete efforts on Monday to race against time in combating the novel coronavirus and winning the battle of prevention and control of the contagion.
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 20,438, including 425 deaths as of Monday.
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. He said the key to the issue is to earnestly implement relevant measures and policies.
The epidemic's prevention and control is not only a matter of medical treatment, but involves all-around efforts, so all work should support fighting the virus, Xi said, urging local governments and Party committees at various levels to obey the command of the CPC Central Committee.