Chinese authorities said there were positive and improving trends for controlling the novel coronavirus outbreak but warned that the country cannot slacken its efforts in the slightest.

With the measures the government has taken, a possibly wider spread of the outbreak has been averted, according to a high-level meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The meeting of the leading group of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which is led by Li, also asked Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, to continue to strengthen medical investigation and expand hospital bed supply.

The state will send more medical forces to support according to the needs of treatment, it added.

The meeting also emphasized the treatment of severely ill patients and the importance of speeding up clinical drug trials.

It called for measures to strengthen the protection of medical personnel and meet the demand for their daily necessities.

The government is asking Hubei Province to continue with controls on the flow of people out of the province, it added.

It also underscored the need to ensure the orderly return of migrant workers to their posts, scientifically arrange the opening date of colleges and universities and encourage enterprises to resume production in a well-organized manner.