BEIJING — China will advance the toilet revolution and living environment improvement in rural areas to help contain the novel coronavirus epidemic, an agriculture and rural affairs official said on Feb 11.

"We should realize the importance of popularizing hygienic toilets in rural areas for the epidemic prevention and control," said He Bin, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, at a news conference in Beijing.

The renovation of rural household toilets in eastern regions and city outskirts in central and western regions should be completed by the end of this year, He said.

Thorough clean-up operations will be carried out in villages to improve the living environment, guiding villagers to properly dispose of domestic waste and livestock feces.

Efforts should also be made to strengthen waste treatment in rural areas and promote knowledge of personal hygiene among residents, He said.

China launched the toilet revolution in 2015 to increase the number and sanitation of toilets at tourist sites. The campaign expanded to improve public toilets in cities and build better private toilets in rural areas.