NYEIN CHAN NAING/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting with top officials of the ruling Communist Party on the prevention and control of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, China’s state media reported Saturday.

During the meeting, Xi pointed out that in facing the grave situation of the rapid spreading epidemic of the deadly new coronavirus, it is necessary to strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee.

He also said that he has been paying very close attention to the virus outbreak and demanded that the government at all levels to put people’s life and health as the top priority.

"Life is of paramount importance. When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it," Xi said, stressing the importance and urgency of the work.

What else is being done to address the outbreak: Xi ordered officials in the Hubei Province to take more rigorous measures to prevent the virus from spreading and to put all patients in centralized quarantine for treatment. He urged the party committees and governments at various levels to fully implement the decisions and policies made by the Party’s Central Committee, make all-out efforts and mobilize all the available resources to curb the spread of the virus.

He called for strengthening the protection of medical staff, ensuring the market supply of materials in need, intensifying disclosure of related information to guide the public opinion as well as the mobilization of social forces to uphold the overall stability of society.

Xi and other leaders also made new arrangements for further studies on the treatment of patients already infected with the virus.