BEIJING — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged swift containment of the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xi made the remarks on March 17 while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to analyze the COVID-19 epidemic situation.

Since the COVID-19 response measures were enforced on a regular basis, China has effectively responded to regional cluster infections and provided the best protection for people's lives and health as it can, Xi said.

The country's economic performance and COVID-19 response, which both led the world, fully demonstrated its strength and capacity in epidemic prevention and control. It also showed the advantages of the CPC's leadership and the socialist system, he noted.

"Victory comes from perseverance," Xi said. He asked all departments and regions to prepare for complexity and difficulty in COVID-19 response at home and abroad.

The people should always come first, said Xi. He stressed science-based and accurate measures and the adherence to the dynamic zero-COVID policy to curb the spread of the epidemic soonest.

He called for further scientific and technological innovation in research and development of vaccines, rapid testing reagents, and medicines to make the prevention and control more targeted.

More effective measures should be taken to achieve maximum effect in prevention and control with minimum cost, and to reduce the impact on socioeconomic development as much as possible, said Xi.

Noting the recent local COVID-19 cluster transmissions appeared in many places in the country, with broad coverage and frequent occurrences, the meeting called for stringent implementation of the policy of early detection, reporting, quarantine and treatment.

Guidance for epidemic prevention and control should be strengthened in key areas to swiftly control local cluster cases, said the meeting.

The meeting stressed the need to secure the production and supply of daily necessities and ensure people's need for medical treatment.

It also underlined the importance of comprehensively improving the capacities of epidemic transmission monitoring, early warning, and emergency response.

The meeting asked for strengthened virus control efforts at ports to build a strong defense against imported cases and enhanced regular prevention and control measures in schools and other key places.

Greater efforts ought to be made in advancing the administration of COVID-19 vaccines and raising the vaccination rate to reinforce the defense against the epidemic, the meeting emphasized.

Relevant departments should inform the public of the latest epidemic situation and the progress of the epidemic prevention work on a timely basis, noted the meeting.

The meeting urged all localities to stay on high alert, lose no time, and attend to every aspect and detail when implementing epidemic containment measures.

In regions where the epidemic hit, officials at all levels must consider epidemic prevention and control their top priority and put their utmost effort toward the successful containment of the virus, the meeting underscored.

Officials who have lost control of the epidemic due to dereliction of duty must be investigated immediately following discipline and regulations, the meeting added.