NEW YORK, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The outbreak of the coronavirus has brought the world together to defeat a common foe, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday.
"The fight against the coronavirus outbreak shows again that we live in a shared community where all of us are interlinked and interdependent," Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping said here at a press conference on China's prevention and control of the coronavirus.
The diplomat elaborated on the measures taken by the Chinese government in the "serious battle against the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus."
"The Chinese government has taken strong measures and will continue to resolutely make sure the measures are effectively implemented," said the consul general.
A national joint prevention and control mechanism led by China's National Health Commission and composed of other governmental departments was put in place immediately after the outbreak of the epidemic to form a multi-layered prevention and control system focusing on central China's Hubei Province and the epicenter of the outbreak Wuhan, Huang said.
China has strengthened its monitoring of the epidemic and conducted home-based medical observations for anyone who may have had close contact with those infected, he said.
More medical supplies and manpower have been sent to Hubei Province. About 4 billion U.S. dollars have been allocated nationwide to fight the epidemic, and nearly 6,000 medical workers from across China have been sent to Wuhan and other cities in Hubei with medical supplies, said the consul general.
China has taken great pains from preventing the epidemic from flowing out of the country and regularly keeps contact with the WHO and relevant countries and regions on the latest information, he said.
In addition to initially sharing information such as the genome sequence of the new virus, China has invited experts from the WHO to carry out field studies in Wuhan. Chinese embassies and consulates abroad have also been in close communication with the governments of the host countries, keeping them informed of the outbreak and China's prevention and control efforts.
Furthermore, China has launched a health campaign to educate the public on how to protect themselves from contracting the virus, he added.
The Chinese Consulate General in New York has been issuing relevant information in a timely manner, said Huang.
"We have strengthened consular work related to the epidemic. The Consulate has deployed more manpower to answer Chinese citizens' inquiries for help," he added.
