Zhong Nanshan (C), renowned Chinese respiratory specialist, speaks during a press conference in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Jan. 21, 2020. The People's Government of Guangdong Province held a press briefing on Jan. 21 on the pneumonia outbreak and epidemic prevention and control measures. (Xinhua/Huang Guobao)
Jan. 21
-- The NHC started to update via its official website and its new media platform the epidemic information of the previous day on a daily basis. It had updated 71 times by March 31. Starting on Feb. 3, the English official website of the NHC started releasing epidemic information simultaneously, updating the data for 58 times by March 31.
-- A foreign ministry spokesperson said China will, upon invitation from the WHO, send representatives to attend an International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting.
-- The People's Government of Guangdong Province held a press briefing on the pneumonia outbreak and epidemic prevention and control measures. Zhong Nanshan told the briefing that "since it is known that the virus can be transmitted from people to people, one thing to do is to strictly quarantine patients and track close contacts, which is probably the most important thing," adding that there has been thus far no targeted and effective drugs against the novel coronavirus.
-- The WHO published a statement on its official website saying on Jan. 20-21, a WHO delegation conducted a field visit to Wuhan to learn about the response to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and visited the Wuhan Tianhe Airport, Zhongnan hospital, Hubei provincial CDC.
Chinese experts shared with Gauden Galea, the WHO Representative in China, Olowokure Babatunde and other members of the delegation a range of protocols that will be used in developing international guidelines, including case definitions, clinical management, and infection control among others.
-- The China CDC Weekly reported for the first time the epidemiological characteristics of the novel coronavirus, displaying the whole genome sequence of three strains of the virus, in an article titled “Note from the Field: A Novel Coronavirus Genome Identified in a Cluster of Pneumonia Cases - Wuhan, China 2019-2020."
-- Researchers from the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai under the CAS, the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, and the CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences published a paper in the English version of "Science China Life Science," titled "Evolution of the novel coronavirus from the ongoing Wuhan outbreak and modeling of its spike protein for risk of human transmission," evaluating the potential human-to-human transmission capacity of the virus, providing scientific theoretical basis for confirming the source and transmission route of infection as soon as possible and formulating prevention and control strategies.
Jan. 22
-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with French President Emmanuel Macron at request.
Macron said that France supports China in actively dealing with the epidemic and is willing to enhance health cooperation with the Chinese side.
Xi said that since the outbreak, China has taken strict measures in prevention, control and treatment, and has been releasing relevant information to the public and keeping the World Health Organization as well as relevant countries and regions informed in a timely manner.
China is willing to work with the international community to effectively tackle the spread of the disease and maintain global health security, Xi said.
-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at request.
Merkel said Germany appreciates China's efforts to respond in a timely manner, stay open and transparent, and actively carry out international cooperation, adding that Germany is willing to provide China with support and assistance.
Xi expressed his gratitude to Germany, stressing that China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Germany, the WHO and the international community.
-- The NHC published the third version of guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia, detailing the use of traditional Chinese medicine in treatment.
-- The State Council Information Office held a press conference about epidemic and the prevention and control work, advising people outside Wuhan not to go to the city in principle and Wuhan residents not to leave the city without special reasons.
-- At the invitation of the WHO, China attended an International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting along with other countries affected by the epidemic. Participating countries, the WHO and experts shared information on the epidemic and conducted scientific research and assessment of the epidemic at the meeting.
-- China's NHC received a notification from the United States saying the first confirmed case had been reported in the United States.
-- The China CDC weekly for the first time reported the epidemiological investigation results of the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in Wuhan in an article titled “Note from the Field: An Outbreak of NCIP (2019-nCoV) Infection in China - Wuhan, Hubei Province 2019-2020."
-- Researchers from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and the Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, posted their sequence analysis of the 2019-nCoV on a medical discussion forum Virological, suggesting the novel coronavirus may have originated in bats rather than snakes.
-- The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Resource (2019nCoVR), a database develop by the China National Center for Bioinformation, was officially launched to release worldwide novel coronavirus genome and information on variation analysis.
