Xi Yanchun:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Wuhan, Hubei. Today, we have invited three members of the Central Guidance Team in Hubei to brief you: Mr. Ding Xiangyang, deputy secretary-general of the State Council; Mr. Wang Jiangping, vice minister of industry and information technology; and Ms. Yu Yanhong, member of the Leading Party Members' Group of the National Health Commission, and secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They will brief you about the progress of COVID-19 control and treatment, as well as answer your questions.
First, I'll give the floor to Mr. Ding.
Ding Xiangyang:
Friends from the media, good afternoon. It has been 15 days since we last met at a press conference on Feb. 20.
During recent days, medical workers, police officers and community leaders have continued to act on the important instructions issued by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the unified plans made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), fighting bravely at the frontline against the COVID-19. Together with all Chinese people, they have stood united, helping each other, and working tenaciously to win the battle against the epidemic. Meanwhile, media personnel, regardless of the obvious risks, have recorded many extraordinary stories happening here in Wuhan. On behalf of the Central Guidance Team in Hubei and Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, leader of the guidance team, I would like to express my sincere respect and gratitude to all of you.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally led, directed and organized China's epidemic prevention and control. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that China has rolled out perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history, changing the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic, and delaying hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 cases in the country. The reduction of COVID-19 cases in China has also played a significant role in protecting the global community, creating a stronger first line of defense against international spread, and gaining invaluable time for the global response.
Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Central Guidance Team led by Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has guided the epidemic prevention and control work in Wuhan in accordance with the arrangements made by the leading group of the CPC Central Committee on the prevention and control of the epidemic, and the requirements issued by Premier Li Keqiang and Comrade Wang Huning. We have implemented the general guidelines for China's epidemic control efforts, which call for confidence, unity, a science-based approach and a targeted response, and have also taken steps to deliver a good job on prevention, control, and treatment.
We issued a call for all-out efforts to hospitalize and treat all confirmed patients, and conduct thorough tests of all suspected ones, as well as anyone who has come into close contact with either group during the incubation period.
We have continuously prioritized medical treatment of COVID-19 patients, and do everything possible to cure them. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan convened several meetings of experts to explore the course of epidemic treatment, and clarified the principles of treating those infected in dedicated facilities by senior medical professionals drawn from all over the country, and with all necessary resources. We have also conducting categorized management for patients. She also called for strengthened the course of treatment combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and urged that all the medical staff involved in medical treatment work should focus on early intervention to prevent mild symptoms from developing into severe ones. Medical consultation and inspection have been carried out by multidisciplinary experts to strengthen the treatment and care of severely-ill patients. By promptly summing up the experience gained in clinical treatment, we have been able to improve the medical treatment standards and have released the seventh edition of the national diagnosis and treatment plan for the disease. In particular, we formulated management standards for mild and common cases, as well as the treatment schemes for severe and critically-ill patients, to ensure the creation of and adoption of unified treatment standards. As a result, the daily number of patients discharged after recovery in Wuhan now reaches 1,000 to 2,000, which proves the effectiveness of our treatment work.
We also conducted timely psychological intervention to help COVID-19 patients and their families. Meanwhile, we have also made greater efforts to ensure the needs of the patients of other diseases in consulting relevant doctors. Strict prevention measures were taken to wipe out the possibility of COVID-19 infection and spread among special groups, such as those housed in prisons, nursing homes and child welfare institutes. Also, we strengthened community management to create communities, units, cities and prefectures free from epidemic.
Media friends, as the Chinese saying goes, the last leg of a journey marks the halfway point. At present, Hubei province and Wuhan city still face an arduous task in epidemic prevention and control. In this regard, we must rise to the challenge and work hard to overcome all difficulties in order to secure a victory.
We believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, there will be no mission impossible for us. Thank you.
