Chinese infectious disease expert calls for greater cooperation to deal with future pandemics at Hong Kong summit
- ‘Sars hero’ Zhong Nanshan says multilateral information sharing, mobilisation is key to thwarting outbreaks
- While most Asian countries have ‘basically contained’ the health crisis, he adds, ‘we are still facing an uphill battle’
Dubbed a “Sars hero” for his role in helping to contain the 2002-03 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Zhong said on Monday that knowledge of the trajectory of the ongoing pandemic was still limited, noting that fresh waves of infections around the world were forcing some places back into lockdown.
Speaking at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s annual Belt and Road Summit, he said even though there were breakthroughs in the development of vaccines, which could boost people’s confidence in winning the struggle against the deadly virus, there was still a long way to go.
“We see the need to enhance cooperation in medical and health sectors, establish bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms of epidemic response and biosecurity,” he told the virtual summit. “So that we are equipped with the ability to cope with viruses by regular detection, early warning, information sharing, regional coordinating and mobilising of the medical resources. By doing so, we will be able to prepare for another possible global outbreak, or other pandemic.”
On Sunday, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded worldwide hit 61.9 million, with 1.45 million related deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The United States was the hardest-hit nation, with nearly 13 million infections, followed by India and Brazil.