China sets up national coronavirus center

China has established the national coronavirus center in order to better control the COVID-19 epidemic, senior official said on Friday at the ongoing 2020 ZGC Forum in Beijing's Zhongguancun area ― often referred to as China's Silicon Valley.

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said during his speech that the newly established center will be responsible for collecting virus and genomic sequence, as well as the COVID-19 control and prevention related training, international cooperation and setting up national standards on the matter.

"The virus is still spreading globally. Different from the influenza virus, novel coronavirus is not seasonal. The number of global infection keeps growing," he said.

Zhong Nanshan, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and top respiratory disease expert who led China's fight against COVID-19 epidemic, said at the forum via video that the epidemic may continue in the coming winter and the spring next year. Thus, it's important to keep the strict prevention measures this winter.

He also reminded the importance of wearing masks and washing hands to reduce infection risks.