International media and experts impressed by China's speed in battling coronavirus

International media and experts spoke highly of China's speed and openness in combatting the novel coronavirus named 2019-nCoV, which has rapidly spread across China and beyond since December.  

"Just 10 days after a pneumonia-like illness was first reported among people who visited a seafood market in Wuhan, China, scientists released the genetic sequence of the coronavirus that sickened them," Washington Post wrote in an article published on Saturday.  

"At unprecedented speed, scientists are starting experiments, sharing data and revealing the secrets of the pathogen," the article noted.  

China has started the research and development of a vaccine for the virus, Xu Wenbo, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday. The center has so far finished the process of virus isolation, he added. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he's "reasonably confident" that with the viral genome, a safety study could begin testing a vaccine in people within three months. 

"The fact that it's about three months is really, I think, remarkable, because that would be the fastest that we have ever gotten from the time we got the sequence to the time into a human," said the doctor from the U.S. "If we can do that, it would be the fastest on the record."

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the medical journal Lancet, said on Saturday on his twitter account that Chinese authorities have acted "quickly and decisively". 

"When one examines the global response to 2019-nCoV, Chinese authorities have acted quickly and decisively to control the outbreak. They have shared information rapidly and transparently. Meanwhile, WHO has been impressive: clear and confident decisions and communication," he tweeted.  

Horton also called for caution, saying media are escalating anxiety by talking of a "killer virus" plus "growing fears." "In truth, from what we currently know, 2019-nCoV has moderate transmissibility and relatively low pathogenicity. There is no reason to foster panic with exaggerated language," he wrote on Friday.  

On January 24, Lancet published "emerging understandings of 2019-nCoV," in which it also praised China for its transparency, data sharing, and quick response. 

"By most accounts, Chinese authorities are meeting international standards and isolating suspected cases and contacts, developing diagnostic and treatment procedures, and implementing public education campaigns," it wrote.