Medics returned from virus-hit Hubei Province wave to greeters upon their arrival at Nanchang Changbei International Airport in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, March 18, 2020. Medical assistance teams started leaving Hubei Province as the epidemic outbreak in the hard-hit province has been subdued. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)
BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Wednesday chaired a leadership meeting to analyze the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic prevention and control as well as the economic development at home and abroad.
The meeting also made arrangements for coordinating the epidemic prevention and control with key work of economic and social development.
Xi made an important speech at Wednesday's meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
The following are highlights of his remarks:
-- The positive trend in preventing and controlling the epidemic has been constantly consolidated and expanded, and the restoration of normal production and everyday life has been quickened.
-- However, new situations and problems, especially the overseas spread of the virus and its negative impacts on the world economy, have brought new challenges.
-- Work priorities and response measures should be tailored to changing situations to win the people's war against the epidemic, and secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and fighting poverty.
Chinese President Xi Jinping learns about the hospital's operations, treatment of patients, protection for medical workers and scientific research at the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
Xi warned of the complexity and severity of the epidemic situations both at home and abroad.
-- The tasks of medical treatment, community prevention and control and follow-up work remain arduous in Hubei Province and its capital city of Wuhan.
-- The risk of outbreak rebounding still exists in other regions due to increasing personnel mobility and crowd gathering.
-- Risks of imported cases are mounting as the COVID-19 rapidly spread across the world.
-- We should never allow the hard-won and continuous positive trend to be reversed.
On international cooperation, Xi said,
-- There should be closer cooperation with the World Health Organization to strengthen the analysis and prediction of the changes in the global epidemic situation, and improvement in strategies and policies to cope with imported risks.
-- There must be strengthened exchanges and cooperation with other countries in epidemic response and pledged continuous assistance to the best of China's ability.
-- There should be more guidance and support to Chinese nationals overseas to protect their lives and health.
Workers work at the construction site of the Guangming Science City in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, March 12, 2020.Shenzhen has seen more than 97 percent of the industrial enterprises above designated size and the key projects resume operation. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
ACCURATE MEASURES
The meeting demands,
-- Sound and accurate measures should be taken to contain and control the COVID-19 in key regions, and Hubei and Wuhan should proceed with the anti-virus battle with caution and win the war.
-- Intensified efforts to treat severe cases and reduce the fatality rate. Community-based epidemic control measures should be improved to increase activity space accessible to residents in neighborhoods with no infections.
-- Work resumption will gradually happen in Wuhan, while in the rest of Hubei control measures will be relaxed in an orderly manner.
-- Hubei should actively engage with other provincial-level regions to send workers back to their posts and people grounded in Hubei to their hometowns through point-to-point transportation.
-- Great importance should be attached to epidemic prevention and control in Beijing and other key regions.
On preventing the influx of infections, the meeting called for,
-- Strengthening data and information sharing as well as checks on individuals arriving from overseas.
-- The mechanism of coordinating virus prevention and control strategies with relevant countries must be improved, containment experience sharing be stepped up, and joint scientific research be promoted.
Employees work at the workshop of the Harbin Power Plant Valve Co., Ltd. in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 18, 2020.The Harbin Power Plant Valve Co., Ltd. has stepped up efforts to resume production recently in response to key project orders from home and abroad. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)
WORK RESUMPTION
With mounting downward pressure on China's economy, the meeting required faster establishment of an economic and social order compatible with epidemic prevention and control.
-- More work should be done to actively encourage enterprises and institutions to resume work and production in an orderly manner amid efforts to minimize losses caused by epidemic.
-- More efforts are needed to restore people's normal work and life in full in low-risk provinces.
-- For the flow of personnel and goods between low-risk regions, necessary health certificates should be recognized nationwide, no more obstacles should be set up and no isolation measures should be taken for people with certificates.
The meeting called for strengthened research and analysis of the global economic situation and timely formation of targeted policies and measures.
-- With epidemic prevention measures well-implemented, China will provide convenience for business travel, keep the international supply chain unblocked, facilitate investment and exhibition services, and ensure that various economic and trade activities proceed normally. ■
