Chinese infectious disease expert calls for greater cooperation to deal with future pandemics at Hong Kong summit
- ‘Sars hero’ Zhong Nanshan says multilateral information sharing, mobilisation is key to thwarting outbreaks
- While most Asian countries have ‘basically contained’ the health crisis, he adds, ‘we are still facing an uphill battle’
Dubbed a “Sars hero” for his role in helping to contain the 2002-03 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Zhong said on Monday that knowledge of the trajectory of the ongoing pandemic was still limited, noting that fresh waves of infections around the world were forcing some places back into lockdown.
Speaking at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s annual Belt and Road Summit, he said even though there were breakthroughs in the development of vaccines, which could boost people’s confidence in winning the struggle against the deadly virus, there was still a long way to go.
“We see the need to enhance cooperation in medical and health sectors, establish bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms of epidemic response and biosecurity,” he told the virtual summit. “So that we are equipped with the ability to cope with viruses by regular detection, early warning, information sharing, regional coordinating and mobilising of the medical resources. By doing so, we will be able to prepare for another possible global outbreak, or other pandemic.”
On Sunday, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded worldwide hit 61.9 million, with 1.45 million related deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The United States was the hardest-hit nation, with nearly 13 million infections, followed by India and Brazil.
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Zhong did not mention the US in his speech on Monday, which came amid sky-high tensions between Beijing and Washington, which have been locked in a long-running trade war and diplomatic disputes over everything from technology to human rights.
Assessing the global outlook, Zhong, the director of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, said he expected the pandemic would worsen in the northern hemisphere as the weather got colder.
And while most Asian countries had “basically contained” the health crisis, he said, “we are still facing an uphill battle”.
“We must remain on high alert, adopt proactive measures to fight the pandemic,” he said, adding that exchanges and cooperation between countries were becoming more urgent amid the mounting uncertainties.
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At the same session, Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Secretary Alfred Sit Wing-hang said the pandemic had brought about a so-called new normal in terms of how people live, work and interact with each other – one in which technology would be indispensable in the years to come.
The government’s recent investment in enhancing the local information technology infrastructure and streamlining research and development, he added, had energised the local tech ecosystem.
“As a strategic region in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can synergise with other GBA cities to sustain the growth momentum and leverage its uniqueness to complement each other for better development,” Sit said, referring to Beijing’s scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine other southern cities into an integrated financial and technological hub.
