WUHAN — A central government team guiding the coronavirus epidemic control work in China's Hubei province held on Feb 24 a consultation with frontline medical experts and urged utmost efforts to treat patients of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The central government team, led by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, visited the Tongji Hospital based in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. At a remote consultation center, the team held discussions with experts from Beijing, Shanghai and the military to assist Wuhan with the epidemic control.

Sun, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said equal importance should be attached to both severe and mild cases, calling for efforts to optimize the treatment schemes for severe and critical patients and the management standards for mild and common cases.

Efforts should be made to ensure the speedy recovery of mild patients and priority should be given to severe cases regarding the application of advanced equipment, technologies and medicines, she said.

Sun also stressed ensuring medical supplies to hospitals and increasing the cure rate and reducing the mortality rate through the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, preclinical medicine and clinical practices, treatment and nursing, as well as treatment and management.