Zhao Jianping (3rd R), a respiratory and critical care specialist from the Wuhan-based Tongji Hospital, instructs his colleagues at the severe case ward in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, Feb. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

The Chinese government will donate 5,000 sets of protective clothing and 100,000 masks to Japan in batches, the first two of which arrived in Tokyo on February 27 and 28 in order to help Japan to fight against the novel coronavirus, the Chinese Embassy in Japan said in a statement on Saturday.

Maintaining sustainable and healthy economic growth this year is a key objective, and China’s economy remains resilient despite mounting risks and challenges at home and abroad, a senior official said on Friday.

The novel coronavirus epidemic has been easing in China, including in the epicenter city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, but great uncertainties remain and epidemic control efforts must not become lax in any case, the nation’s top health authority said on Feb 28.

At a press conference held by the State Council inter-agency task force on COVID-19 outbreak on the afternoon of 4 March, Mr. Mi Feng, a spokesperson of the National Health Commission and Deputy Director-General for Communications noted that as of 3 March, the cure rates of confirmed cases had been on the rise for the 19th consecutive day, with the figure reaching 50.2% in Wuhan, 76.8% in other parts of Hubei and 87.3% in other provinces. In the coming weeks, it is important to lock in treatment gains, further improve the therapeutic solutions, harness the strengths of both traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, closely monitor and provide all-round care to patients in severe or critical conditions, so as to further increase the cure rate and lower the case fatality rate.