At least 1,716 health workers were infected with novel coronavirus and six of them died from the disease, said the vice minister of the country's National Health Commission Zeng Yixin in a news conference on Friday.

1,716 confirmed cases of infection of medical personnel were reported, accounting for 3.8% of the confirmed cases nationwide. Six of them died, accounting for 0.4% of deaths in the country.

"At present, the duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy, their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great, and the risk of infection is high," Yixin said.

China is implementing unprecedented measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak. While nearly 60 million people were put on lockdown in the cities most affected by the epidemic, in many places local residents are only allowed to leave their homes or sites for shopping and daily needs. (ILKHA)