BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities in China have been urged to further implement differentiated prevention and control strategies while advancing economic and social development amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a circular issued Friday by a State Council joint task force. Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, will continue to take vigorous measures to prevent both exported cases and spread within the regions, and the departure channels of the city and the province should continue to be strictly controlled, according to the circular. The epidemic prevention and control work in Beijing should be carried out with efforts to prevent both imported cases and spread within the city, the circular said, stressing a joint prevention and control mechanism of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to cut off the source of infection, and ensure the orderly return of people to Beijing. Specified measures should be made to resolutely curb the rising trend of the epidemic in provinces neighboring Hubei and other key provincial-level regions including Zhejiang, Guangdong and Heilongjiang, said the circular, noting that imported cases, spread within these regions and regional outbreaks should be prevented. For other regions across the country, preventive measures should be highlighted at the county level to avoid a rebound of the epidemic situation, and regions with lower risks should resume work and production as soon as possible with protective measures put in place, said the circular.  ■