Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for advancing the scientific research on novel coronavirus disease to provide support in winning the battle against the epidemic.
He made the remarks in his visit to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
During his visit, the President learned about the progress on the vaccine, anti-body, medicine and fast testing kit research and application.
China's daily new confirmed and suspected cases of the novel coronavirus disease have seen an overall downward trend for two weeks.
Chinese health authority received reports of 202 new positive virus tests and 42 more deaths on Sunday.
All the deaths were in Hubei Province.
The number of newly discharged patients nationwide continues to show an upward trend, fluctuating around 3,000 in recent days.
National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng,
"The information indicates that the rapid rise of the epidemic situation in Wuhan has been under control. In the area outside Wuhan in Hubei province, the local outbreak situation has been controlled. The epidemic situation in provinces other than Hubei has been positive."
The Chinese mainland reported six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday outside Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The official says more precise measures will be implemented, with a focus on community prevention and control as well as medical treatment.
China has rolled out special measures to facilitate entry and exit procedures for foreigners staying in the country amid the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak.
The National Immigration Administration says foreigners on anti-COVID-19 missions in China will be granted urgent entry and exit permits within 24 hours.
Foreigners eligible include experts entering the country to offer medical assistance, drug development and academic exchanges.
For foreigners living in China, they will have their stay or residence permits extended automatically for two months during the epidemic period.
Official data show China's daily output of face masks reached 116 million units as of Saturday, as production expansion moves into top gear.
This is 12 times the figure reported on Feb. 1.
The consistent rise in both capacity and output further narrowed the supply deficit.
The daily output of N95-rated medical masks reached over 1.6 million units to ensure medical staff at the forefront of the battle against the novel coronavirus are well-equipped.
The National Forestry and Grassland Administration has urged efforts to prevent the spread of desert locusts in China as the migratory pests may enter the country from Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Kazakhstan.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicted that the desert locust plague, which originated in Africa, may last until June.
The administration has urged local authorities to step up monitoring of the pests, issue alerts in a timely manner, and improve emergency response plans to combat the possible spread of locusts.
South Korea confirmed 599 more cases of the COVID-19 on Monday, raising the total number of infections to over 4,300.
Eight more deaths have been reported, lifting the combined death toll to 26.
The virus infection soared for the past 12 days, with more than 3,700 new cases reported from Feb. 19 to March 1. The country has raised its virus alert to the highest "red" level.
Worried about the rapid virus spread, the education ministry has ordered all preschools, primary and secondary schools nationwide to postpone their March openings by two more weeks.
South Korea's military says North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the eastern waters on Monday.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the projectiles flew about 240 kilometers at an altitude of around 35 kilometers.
The statement says the South Korean military is closely monitoring the situation in preparation for possibly additional launches.
Israelis began casting ballots on Monday in parliamentary elections for the third time in less than a year.
The Central Elections Committee says almost 6.5 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote.
Special stations have been established for Israelis who are under mandatory self-quarantine for fear they might have been infected by COVID-19.