The group, led by Premier Li Keqiang, also demanded efforts to coordinate the prevention and control measures and the spring farming. The positive trend of the prevention and control situation should be expanded, according to a meeting of the group held Monday.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

It is now the most crucial moment to curb the spread of the epidemic, so the prevention and control work should not be relaxed at all, according to the meeting.

Hubei Province and Wuhan, as the centers of the epidemic, should continue to strictly implement prevention and control measures, boost prevention and control from the source in communities, improve the level of treatment and ensure the timely and accurate release of information on the epidemic, the meeting said.

Beijing and other cities with large population mobility should have channels, communities and ports watched over to prevent the inflow and spread of the epidemic, the meeting said.

Other regions should adjust the emergency response levels based on the actual situations and combine them with the differentiated prevention and control at the county level, precisely implement the prevention and control measures after the resumption of work, reduce unnecessary crowd gatherings and restore normal production and life in an orderly way, the meeting said.

The meeting also called for greater efforts to advance development of fast and convenient detection kits, the development and testing of major drugs and the development of effective vaccines in a bid to promote scientific and accurate prevention and control.

At present, the epidemic situation in China is generally at a relatively low level except for Hubei, showing a positive trend. Community prevention and control, however, is an important gateway and foundation to further control the spread of the epidemic and prevent sporadic outbreaks.

People working at urban and rural communities have contributed remarkably to the fight against the epidemic, and local regions should pay more attention to them and care for them.

The protection conditions of community workers shall be improved, including provision of reasonable amount of masks, protective clothing, and well-considered arrangements be made to help them continue their work.

The meeting also urged a balance between epidemic prevention and control work and spring farming, adding that Hubei should also carry out agricultural production in an orderly way while maintaining solid work in epidemic prevention and control.

Wang Huning, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the leading group, attended the meeting.