WUHAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Officials have paid a silent tribute to medics and patients who lost their lives during the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The medical staff have been working continuously at the front lines, and they have displayed a strong sense of love and kindness, Ding Xiangyang, deputy secretary-general of the State Council, or the cabinet, said at a press conference Thursday in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in central China's Hubei Province.