Zhuhai, Macao team up to fight novel coronavirus

Zhuhai, Guangdong province and the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region have been working closely in the fight against the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, said Yan Wu, vice-mayor of Zhuhai.

A joint epidemic control mechanism was established just after a meeting among top government officials of the two cities on Jan 23, Yan said at a news conference in Guangzhou on Monday.

Under the mechanism, Zhuhai and Macao have been sharing information such as infection cases, medical treatments, epidemic control measures and checkpoint operations carried out daily at 10 am, 3 pm and 5 pm.

A high-level and extensive cooperative network for epidemic control has been in place, which includes cooperation in terms of checkpoints, police and medical transfers as well as personnel such as top government officials, medical workers, community workers and security guards, Yan said.

Under the mechanism, the two places have been able to quickly share information on treatment methods recommended by Zhong Nanshan, a prominent expert in respiratory diseases and one of the leading specialists tackling the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Zhuhai has sufficient medical capabilities to handle the outbreak, said Xu Chaolong, director of the city's health commission.

With capacity for 300 dedicated beds under construction, the city will have 800 such beds in the future.

By Sunday, the city had reported 85 confirmed novel coronavirus-infected patients, with nine already cured and discharged from hospital, Yan said.