BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday urged greater efforts to ensure the production and supply of medical equipment such as respirators and ECG monitors to better fight the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.

The advanced medical equipment can greatly improve treatment efficiency and reduce the risks of infection. Manufacturers should beef up efforts to restore production to protect the supply chain, the ministry said.

Some manufacturers had returned to business during the Spring Festival holiday to meet surging demand amid the epidemic.

Mindray, one of the country's leading providers of medical equipment, had produced and delivered more than 35,000 devices to hospitals across the country as of Feb. 17.

Apart from ensuring the sufficient supply of masks and protective gear, priority should be given to the production and supply of medical devices and medicines, the ministry stressed.