BEIJING — Online health services have played a significant role in China's fight against COVID-19 outbreak, reducing the chance of infection by regular hospital visits, a Chinese health official said on Feb 29.

In early February, provincial-level health administrative departments were asked to quickly establish and open provincial online health platforms and organize qualified internet medical institutions to provide relevant online and offline services, Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, said at a press conference on Feb 29.

The services include follow-up medical services for chronic patients and online counseling services, Guo said, adding that some fever patients also received medical consultations online.

"The online health services not only enable the public to obtain convenient, fast and accessible medical services and medical consultation services, but also reduce the chance of cross-infection by avoiding patients gathering in hospitals," she said.

Guo pointed out that the number of medical visits to fever clinics in East China's Zhejiang province has been reduced by 50 percent due to the opening of online health services.

In the epidemic-stricken Hubei province, medical institutions were instructed to strengthen online medical services, providing online medical treatment and consultation, especially for patients with chronic diseases, she said.