Chinese President Xi Warns Public on 'Grave Situation' Caused by 'Accelerating' Spread of Coronavirus

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned of the "grave situation" in the country posed by the lethal coronavirus outbreak, adding to worries on the scope of a health crisis that claimed at least 42 lives and triggered emergency health measures in cities across China.

According to reported news summaries, Xi convened a special meeting during the Lunar New Year holiday and spoke along with the Chinese leaders in some of his first comments warning of the massive outbreak.

The New York Times reported that Xi urged the leaders to step up the centralized and united leadership under the Communist Party leadership as China is confronted with an "accelerating spread" of the coronavirus.

The president then mentioned country-wide measures to confront the spread of the outbreak - including ramping up a remedy for sufferers and distributing specialists to affected areas.

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The Times said that authorities would set up a task force to cope with the disaster that, among other measures, engages nearby and army medical assets and make sure that extended monitoring of passengers and site visitors at railway stations, airports, and seaports.

"We're sure to win in this battle to overcome the epidemic through prevention and control," Xi said. The Chinese president also "the importance of notifying the public to protect social stability." 

The president's remarks come after he became silent about the spreading virus as frustrations grew over authorities in the Chinese province recognized for the outbreak's epicenter.

Local officers in Wuhan, a town of roughly 11 million inside the famous China Hubei province, were the front liners in responding to increasing reports of a mysterious virus.

The town has been quarantined since Thursday. Inbound and outbound travels in Wuhan were canceled. Wuhan mayor Zhou Xianwang, however, admitted that initial "warnings had been now not sufficient." Zhou, according to South China Morning Post, claimed that just an aspect of public health response was mostly botched.

Trending posts on Chinese social media platforms expressed frustration to Sina Weibo for not dealing with the disaster as citizens bristled beneath measures like the government-ordered quarantine of 35 million humans across 12 cities.

Multiple reviews recalled the Chinese authorities' reaction to the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic that originated in China prior that sickened 8,000 and killed 744. Officials mostly attempted to cover up the deadly spread until a whistleblower revealed the genuine scale of the disease.

Government authorities took an entirely different method since the outbreak started weeks ago. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Beijing had been very cooperative and transparent in consolidating efforts to deal with the virus.

However, discontent started to foster on social media as Wuhan faces shortages of hospital supplies and protective gear, plus overcrowding at medical facilities.

According to The Guardian, footages have circulated online - showing staff experiencing a break down and long lines of residents waiting for assessment. The report added that the people had been refused by hospitals and had failed to get a test to discover if they had the virus.