WUHAN — Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed the importance of prevention in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, noting that the fight will be won only if prevention and control measures are put in place in every community.

Sun, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is leading a central government team guiding the coronavirus epidemic control work in central China's Hubei province, the center of the outbreak.

The guiding team visited local communities, a supermarket, and a backup medical facility as well as medical staff in the province's Suizhou city on Feb 16.

Sun urged efforts to ensure the supply and distribution of living materials for community residents.

When learning that there remained a shortage of medical personnel, Sun instructed the national health authorities to immediately send more medics to assist Suizhou.

While visiting Wuhan-based Tongji Hospital on Feb 17, Sun talked with frontline medical personnel and called on them to do everything possible to save lives.