BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Although the novel coronavirus outbreak has thrown relatively big shocks to economic activities in the first two months, its impacts are short-lived and controllable, an official said Monday.

The country's sound economic fundamentals will not be changed in the long term as enterprises are getting back to businesses, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Sheng noted that the first quarter typically accounts for a small share of the annual gross domestic product because of the Spring Festival holiday falling between January and February and the cold weather.

The losses will be easily recovered as long as the country's economy picks up after the second quarter, said Sheng.

While the epidemic put a damper on industries like tourism, auto and entertainment, the consumption will probably rebound once the outbreak ends with pent-up demands unleashing, he said.

The country will strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments and invigorate innate resilience of the economy to shore up high-quality development, Sheng said.