BEIJING -- Chinese authorities Thursday asked businesses outside Hubei Province to resume operation in an orderly manner while continuing to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

This will provide better guarantee for the prevention and control work and help maintain normal economic and social order, according to a high-level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The meeting of the leading group of the CPC Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which is headed by Li, also stressed maintaining concerted epidemic control efforts in Hubei, especially its capital city of Wuhan, where the outbreak hit hardest.

A variety of measures should be adopted to add hospital beds and medical staff in Hubei, according to the meeting.

Businesses outside Hubei are encouraged to create ways to make workplaces less populated or allow staff to take shifts to make production at full throttle. The shortage of machinery, staff or fund should be addressed through coordination to put the whole industry chain in normal operation, it said.

Schools are asked to postpone start of new semester in an appropriate manner.

Railway and civil aviation authorities should roll out measures for passengers to sit less densely during their trips back from holiday and avoid travel peak to reduce the risks of virus spreading, it said.

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the leading group, attended the meeting.