Chinese official says slow response made virus epidemic worse

China's delayed response to the discovery of a new coronavirus infection worsened the epidemic, the most senior official from the city at the centre of the outbreak said Friday.

"Right now I'm in a state of guilt, remorse and self-reproach," said Ma Guoqiang, the municipal Communist Party secretary for Wuhan.

"If strict control measures had been taken earlier, the result would have been better than now," he told an interview with state broadcaster CCTV.