by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng
BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization said on Monday that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside China has exceeded that inside China, sounding an alarm bell for the international community that the major battleground in this fight against the pandemic has shifted.
As the transition takes place, nations across the globe should realize that a more broadly coordinated drive to contain and end the outbreak brooks no delay. Hesitation and disaccord would lead to chaos and severer consequences.
The first priority is to take swift and decisive action.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Beijing has adopted the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough-going measures unseen in human history to treat those infected and curb the further spread of the virus. As a result, China has largely put the outbreak under control, with many of its provinces except the epicenter Hubei being nearly clear of new infections.
Already, many hard-hit countries, notably those in Europe, the current epicenter of the global pandemic, have set their measures in motion: Italy and Spain have placed lockdowns nationwide; Greece has suspended classes; Germany has tightened its border control; France has closed restaurants, cafes and cinemas.
These social distancing measures, according to China's painful experience and sacrifice, can work over time. But to win this global war on a previously unknown virus requires everyone's combined efforts. No one is strong enough to do this alone.
China, from the onset of the outbreak, has been working closely with other governments and international organizations to share critical information and throttle the epidemic.
Having largely contained the disease's spread at home, China is now helping others cope with this unprecedented microbe challenge. A worldwide victory means no country should be left behind.
China has sent medical professionals to Italy, Iraq and Iran along with badly needed materials like test kits, masks, protective suits and goggles. Its experience in containing the epidemic will prove valuable too.
And as governments have begun to ratchet up their containment efforts, they should bear in mind that acts of isolationism or protectionism can not help them save the day in this age of globalization. They need to better coordinate their policies and actions across the borders.
Apart from bolstering cooperation in prevention and control, the international community must come together to develop effective treatment, preventive drugs and vaccines. The world has done this before when China, the United States, Mexico and Australia pooled their efforts into the development of drugs and vaccines during the H1N1 influenza in 2010. It can do it again.
There's been one unfortunate lesson from the past few weeks: Those who failed to take early action against the disease have witnessed it wreak havoc across their nations.
Still, policy-makers in some countries are hesitating; some are simply trying to take a let-it-go approach; yet others are taking advantage of the dire situation to smear certain nations for self gain, and even using racist language to sow the seed of hatred.
They risk putting not only the lives and health of their citizens on the line, but those of others across the world as well.
Now that the global fight against the disease enters a new and perhaps the most critical stage, the human race needs more than ever to join their hands in the face of this shared global challenge. That is where humanity's best possible hope lies now.
