China’s President Xi Jinping said work to control the virus in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province remained arduous, as he visited the centre of the coronavirus epidemic, the state-run Xinhua .

The first steps of goals to stabilise and turn around the situation in Hubei and Wuhan have been achieved, he said.While the coronavirus has hit Hubei’s economy, its long term positive momentum has not been affected, he said.