۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ ۲۰۲۰ in crisis

۳٫ Social cooperation during the 2019-nCoV epidemic and lessons for future epidemic prevention

Acknowledgements

References

Abstract

Only a month after the outbreak of pneumonia caused by 2019-nCoV, more than forty-thousand people were infected. This put enormous pressure on the Chinese government, medical healthcare provider, and the general public, but also made the international community deeply nervous. On the 25th day after the outbreak, the Chinese government implemented strict traffic restrictions on the area where the 2019-nCoV had originated—Hubei province, whose capital city is Wuhan. Ten days later, the rate of increase of cases in Hubei showed a significant difference (p = 0.0001) compared with the total rate of increase in other provinces of China. These preliminary data suggest the effectiveness of a traffic restriction policy for this pandemic thus far. At the same time, solid financial support and improved research ability, along with network communication technology, also greatly facilitated the application of epidemic prevention measures. These measures were motivated by the need to provide effective treatment of patients, and involved consultation with three major groups in policy formulation—public health experts, the government, and the general public. It was also aided by media and information technology, as well as international cooperation. This experience will provide China and other countries with valuable lessons for quickly coordinating and coping with future public health emergencies.

Introduction

Human history is littered with wars and pandemics, but the death and fear caused by some pandemics cannot be matched by any war. The one with the largest number of deaths in recent human history, the Spanish flu caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus, had infected 500 million people (almost 1/3 of the world population in 1918 [1]) and killed 25 to 50 million people [2, 3]. In the 21st century, human epidemics caused by viruses have continuously appeared in the public eye. Among them, the new infectious diseases caused by wild animal coronavirus infections in humans have attracted the most attention, reminding us that people should be fully prepared to respond to a larger pandemic that may occur at any time in the future.

coronaviruses of wild animal origin have caused 3 serious human infectious diseases in less than 20 years. The first infectious disease was reported in November 2002, in Guangdong Province, China [4]. While the source of the virus was not identified yet, this disease spread quickly, infecting many medical staff. On February 21, 2003, an infected Guangdong doctor travelled to Hong Kong, leading to spread of the virus globally [5]. Not until March 15, after the World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of cases from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Hanoi, was a global alert on the disease issued, which was officially named “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)” [6].