On 7 February, the State Council inter-agency task force held a press briefing on further steps taken to control the outbreak in key areas, increase hospital admission and cure rates, and lower infection and case fatality rates.

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“Small-sample statistics in Wuhan suggest that severe cases account for 6 percent of the total, and critical ones, less than 1 percent.?These cases can be cured and discharged from hospital after proper and proactive treatment.?With designated teams in charge of ICU wards, the case fatality rate of severe and critical cases will continue to drop while the cure rate will increase,” said Wang Guiqiang, Chair of the Chinese Society of Infectious Diseases under the Chinese Medical Association and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Peking University First Hospital.

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“With more reinforcements steadily brought in, a total of over 11,000 healthcare professionals from other parts of the country have joined the fight against the epidemic in Wuhan, including more than 3,000 specialized in the treatment of severe cases. For other cities in Hubei Province, a pairing up scheme has been introduced involving 16 provinces, with each province assisting outbreak response in one city, to strengthen medical capacity in Hubei,” said Guo Hongyan, a supervision official from the Medical Administration Bureau of the National Health Commission.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Republic of China