BEIJING — The novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) epidemic will only have a temporary impact on China's economy, and the country's good economic fundamentals for long-term growth remain unchanged, an official said on Feb 3.

"We are fully confident in and capable of minimizing the epidemic's impact on economy," said Lian Weiliang, deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference in Beijing.

While the epidemic put a damper on industries like transport and tourism, fast growth has been registered in burgeoning sectors such as online shopping, food and entertainment businesses, he said.

Noting that some people compared the coronavirus outbreak with the 2003 SARS epidemic and made economic loss projections based on the SARS damage, Lian said: "China's current economic strength, resources and abilities to deal with emergencies have been significantly strengthened since that time, and we are fully confident in and capable of winning the battle against the epidemic."

Chinese health authorities on Feb 3 said it received reports of 2,829 new confirmed cases and 57 deaths on Feb 2 from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

By the end of Feb 2, the overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 17,205, according to the National Health Commission.

Though the epidemic posed direct harm on the service, manufacturing and trade sectors, the resilience of China's economy cannot be underestimated, according to a report released on Feb 1 by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

The report noted that the potential impact of the epidemic can be different from all the previous epidemics and other incidents, and it is imprudent to judge the economic impact of the epidemic by historical experience.

"Even in the short term, the epidemic has not caused a negative effect on all the sectors but has benefited industries such as electronic commerce and online games and entertainment," said the report.