Xi speech buoys morale on outbreak's front lines

People from Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, hailed the speech President Xi Jinping delivered on Sunday on coordinating epidemic control and socioeconomic development, saying it boosted their confidence in winning the battle against the contagion.

Government officials, medical workers on the front line, community workers and volunteers said Xi's speech set the course for epidemic control efforts in the province, particularly in the provincial capital Wuhan. They said they will follow his instructions and earnestly fulfill their responsibilities to achieve full victory in the battle against the virus.

Speaking at a high-profile videoconference attended by officials of Party organizations and the government at the county level and higher across the country, Xi said there should be no casual declaration of winning until there is a complete victory.

He demanded that Wuhan and Hubei should be safeguarded with resolute efforts, and attention must be focused on containing virus transmission in communities and treating patients. He underscored that epidemic prevention and control remain the priority for the province.

Participants in a meeting on Sunday night chaired by Ying Yong, Hubei Party secretary, said Xi's speech provided a guide for the province's epidemic control efforts.

Officials in attendance vowed to step up efforts to curb the spread of the virus, try every means of improving hospital admission rates and reducing mortality rates, and ensure abundant medical supplies and residents' access to daily necessities.

Xi attaches great importance to the safety of medical workers on the front line. He said it saddened him to hear that over 2,000 of them had been infected and that some had sacrificed their lives. He urged more efforts to provide additional protection for the medical workers and reduce the dangers they face to the greatest possible degree.

Deng Yishu, vice-president of the Second People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, who joined Hubei's fight against the disease, said Xi's love and attention for medical workers greatly inspired him and his colleagues.

Xi's speech encouraged front-line medical workers to fight with stronger morale and to do their utmost to save patients, and it bolstered their confidence in winning the battle at an early date, Deng said.

Xi also urged relentless efforts to strengthen prevention and control in communities, saying communities are the key defensive line in curbing the contagion's spread.

Tian Ming, head of a neighborhood committee in the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, said Xi's speech was important because it holds the key to containing the epidemic.

Tian said he will organize community workers to give residents easy access to adequate daily necessities during the lockdown of communities while striving to strengthen prevention and control efforts.