BEIJING — Wuhan, capital of the hardest-hit province of Hubei, remains the main battlefield for prevention and control of the coronavirus epidemic in the country, a Chinese health official said on Feb 25.

Resolute efforts should be made to curb the rise in confirmed cases in the periphery of Hubei and other key provincial-level regions, said He Qinghua, an official with the National Health Commission at a press conference in Beijing, adding that imported cases, regional outbreaks and spread within these regions should be prevented.

A joint prevention and control mechanism should be initiated between Hubei and its neighboring provinces to help prevent the spread of the epidemic to neighboring areas and provide materials, personnel and transportation support needed in Hubei, according to He.

Other key areas including Beijing, Zhejiang and Guangdong should enhance coordination with Hubei in prevention work, such as information sharing, to contain further spread of the epidemic, he added.

For lower-risk regions across the country, preventive measures should be adopted at the county level to avoid relapse of the epidemic situation while advancing resumption of work and production as soon as possible, He said, stressing efforts to step up disinfection and ventilation as well as passengers' temperature and health monitoring to reduce the risks of virus transmission amid people's return trips.

China reported 508 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection on Feb 24, 499 of which were in Hubei.