China to work with other countries on coronavirus border measures

Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday China will establish an emergency response mechanism for cross-border prevention and control of the COVID-19, as fresh cases reported elsewhere overtook China, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging as epicenters of rapidly spreading illness.

China will work with other countries to set up and improve an emergency response system for prevention and control of the virus at the border, Li, the head of a leading group of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak, told the group meeting.

China urges coordination with South Korea, Japan against cross-border spread of COVID-19

It is important for both China and other foreign countries to share information on cross-border transportation and high-risk people traveling and corresponding prevention and control standards, Li added.

Countries should coordinate and adopt common rules and standards regarding prevention and control of the COVID-19 to effectively track people's movement and prevent virus from spreading to other countries, he added.

With effective quarantining measures, China has slowed down the rate of transmission.

But it is moving fast elsewhere. Asia has reported hundreds of new cases – mostly in South Korea and Iran, Brazil confirmed Latin America's first infection and the disease was also detected for the first time in Pakistan, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Romania and Algeria.

Premier Li said it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization by sharing data and information of the virus, and to continue to work with other countries to develop drugs and vaccine for disease.

Despite the slow rate, Li stressed the importance of prevention and control work as factories and companies have resumed production and businesses in some low-risk provinces.

Li said it is critical to put prevention measures into practical and specify measures to protect the elder and young. Universities, schools and kindergartens will remain closed, he added.

(Cover: Tourists from South Korea wait for a flight back to their country at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, February 24, 2020. /AP)