A worker packs protective masks at the workshop of a company in Xiajiang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 29, 2020. To help fight the outbreak of pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus, workers of many medical material companies rushed to work ahead of schedule to make protective masks. (Photo by Chen Fuping/Xinhua)

China has allocated 27.3 billion yuan (about 3.94 billion U.S. dollars) to support the battle across the country against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as of 5 p.m. Jan. 29, the country's finance ministry said Thursday.

The funds have been allocated to guarantee the coronavirus prevention and control work, the Ministry of Finance said on its website.

More efforts are required to improve fiscal and taxation measures for coronavirus prevention and control in a timely manner, said a meeting held earlier by the ministry.

Financial departments at all levels should reasonably allocate funds and make sure that the prevention and control work will not be affected by funding problems, the meeting noted.