Construction of 5G telecommunications infrastructure is being accelerated in South China's Guangdong as economic activities have been resuming in the province amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The plan is to build 50,000 5G base stations this year to bring the total in the province to 100,000, said Su Shaolin, director of the Guangdong Communications Administration, at a press conference in Guangzhou city on Monday.

The goal is to realize full coverage in the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and pursue continuous coverage in central areas of cities in the Pearl River Delta, and coverage in all prefecture-level cities in the province, he said.

Deep convergence between telecom operators and related sectors will be promoted, he added.

The provincial authority adjusted the public health emergency response system from the top level response to the second level response on Monday as the number of new confirmed novel coronavirus patients had greatly decreased.

The move was expected to lessen the impact of the epidemic on 5G telecom-related projects, Su said.

Meanwhile, 5G telecom service played its role in the battle against the epidemic by facilitating remote consultation of medical experts on cases of patients in serious condition and by facilitating the work of robots in hospital wards, Su said.