Economy set to fire on all cylinders again: China Daily editorial

Since the onset of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the eyes of the nation have been firmly fixed on the updates of the epidemic statistics, and the wounds the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has inflicted on the economy.

Attention is naturally focused on spotting signs that the epidemic is coming to an end. Thus, hopes have been raised on the news that the number of people cured of their infection exceeded the number of new infections — 1,824 to 1,749 — for the first time on Tuesday, and the number of people being treated has also fallen for the first time, from 58,016 on Monday to 57,805 on Tuesday.

Those hopes have been reinforced by the number of people infected with virus in the country outside of Hubei province, the heartland for the epidemic, declining for 15 days in a row as of Wednesday, suggesting that the rigorous measures the country has taken to curb the spread of the virus have proved effective.

But those positive and very welcome trends should not lull people into a false sense of security, the war against the virus is still at a critical stage.

But while continuing to implement quarantine measures, the economy now needs to be kick-started so it can prepare to resume normal operations again.

The epidemic has seemingly brought the country to a virtual standstill, and a whole province, Hubei, has been a state of curfew around the clock for almost one month. But it should not be forgotten that online services and internet studying have boomed during the epidemic and those who can have been working from home and production is beginning to be resumed in many places. So while everywhere seems eerily deserted economic activities are still going on.

As the impact of the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003 indicates, the influence of the epidemic will be temporary, and the suppressed economic activities and the country's vitality will rebound as the situation continues to improve.

And the lost time has only fueled a determination to make up for it. This is true not only of businesses but also the government, with central government departments setting the example for their local counterparts by doing all they can to support enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, which taken together are the main job providers.

With more and more cities having not seen new infections for days, local governments will hopefully begin to feel confident enough to help put these policies into practice.

The order and stability of the country during this difficult time speaks volumes about the solid foundation of its economy and shows that the epidemic will not hinder the nation realizing its objective of building a moderately well-off society in all aspects this year.