Guo Shengkun, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee under the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged prisons in north China's Hubei Province to acknowledge their special and tough conditions to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus.

Noting the most challenging risk is externally generated, Guo emphasized that the most effective prevention and control measures for prisons still rely on closed-off management. 

He made the remarks while inspecting the epidemic prevention and control measures at prisons in the province on Saturday. 

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In a meeting with police officers and other officials, Guo discussed the measures taken in the wake of novel coronavirus, checked the work report and noted suggestions.  

Meanwhile, Guo called for more efforts to contain the epidemic, undertake political responsibilities and plug loopholes in management, urging local prisons to learn lessons stemming from random cases. 

So far, five prisons in Hubei, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces have reported infections, Justice Ministry official He Ping said Friday. 

In turn, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee has sent a team for a comprehensive investigation at Rencheng Prison in Shandong.