BELGRADE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of Serbia's medical institutions and authorities received vital updates on ways of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 outbreak during a video meeting organized within the framework of the China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) cooperation on Friday.
In Serbia, the meeting, held at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade, brought together heads of medical institutes and hospitals as well as government representatives, where their Chinese counterparts shared experiences with and findings on the new coronavirus pandemic via a video link.
Goran Stevanovic, director of the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Belgrade, told Xinhua at the venue that Serbian doctors have been consulting China's experts since the start of the outbreak.
"The exchange of experiences with them is extremely useful and necessary for us," he said, thanking China for its assistance.
Stevanovic explained that Serbia is interested in drawing on China's methods of prevention, transition and control of hotbeds of the epidemic, its treatment of patients and ways of monitoring them after discharge from hospitals.
The outbreak has started only recently in Serbia, with 31 coronavirus cases currently confirmed. The authorities have tightened controls at border crossings and banned indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, including sports fixtures, celebrations and other public events.
The Serbian doctors and officials in attendance were interested in their Chinese peers' detailed explanations and asked them to clarify how dangerous the new virus was for healthcare workers and whether it was necessary to close down schools and universities.
The speakers included representatives of China's Foreign Ministry, the National Health Commission, hospitals and other institutions that have successfully coped with the outbreak in recent months.
