A recovering pneumonia patient gives a thumbs-up to medical workers at Wuhan University's Zhongnan Hospital, in early 2020. [GAO XIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

China paid greater effort to promoting the public health system through the rule of law, while intensifying prevention and control of the COVID-19 outbreak last year, a blue book said on Wednesday.

The system was improved not only by accelerating legislative steps, but also through a series of administrative and judicial moves, according to the Blue Book on the Rule of Law released by the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which further stated that every department in the country made protecting lives and health security their priority in 2020.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, took the decision to crack down on the illegal consumption of wild animals last year and then issued legislation on public health to give stronger support to protecting lives and health security, the book said.

The Committee drafted a biosecurity law, and revised laws on infectious disease prevention and wildlife protection to reduce and avoid public health risks to the country, it said.

Judicial departments also stepped up the fight against crime, especially those relating to the pandemic, in 2020, even though the situation made it more difficult to solve cases.

From January to June of last year, for example, Chinese prosecutors took 5,565 people to court for pandemic-related offenses, the report said, adding that the country saw a rapid growth of telecom fraud during the outbreak, even as it witnessed a decline in violent crime.

Meanwhile, several government agencies provided guidance to enterprises seeking to restart business, and helped college graduates find jobs during the critical period, which contributed to social stability and economic resumption.

Apart from the legal interventions in public health, the book also focused on other important legal issues, and listed the most relevant achievements the country made last year, such as drafting rules on livestreaming services, enhancing protection for senior citizens, and improving judicial transparency.