BEIJING — China has taken multipronged measures to expedite work resumption of water supply projects in rural areas, as part of the efforts to support the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

About 90 percent of the rural water supply projects have resumed construction, Chen Mingzhong, an official with the Ministry of Water Resources, told a press conference on March 26.

The country will fast-track fund allocations from the 1.5 billion yuan (about $212.19 million) of central budget investment and facilitate local governments to boost work resumption in rural water supply, he said.

The ministry has set up a supervision mechanism to coordinate the local authorities to solve problems in resuming work, according to Chen.

Digital tools such as WeChat and videoconference have been applied to coordinate the construction of water supply projects and improve efficiency, he said.