Then WHO assistant director-general for health security Keiji Fukuda gestures on August 8, 2014 in Geneva during a press conference. (ALAIN GROSCLAUDE / AFP)

China has made effort that has never been made by any country in recent years to contain the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak, said Keiji Fukuda, a former WHO official and professor at the School of Public Health of University of Hong Kong.

In an interview with China News Service, Fukuda affirmed the extensive measures taken by China in fighting against the virus. 

In an interview with China News Service, HKU professor and former-WHO official Keiji Fukuda affirmed the extensive measures taken by China in fighting against the virus

Fukuda said he believed that Hong Kong was on the right track in epidemic containment. He said the SAR government has tightened border control by requiring all arrivals from the Chinese mainland to quarantine of 14 days.

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“Although it remains unclear whether those precautions would be sufficient to stop the community transmission of the virus in Hong Kong, I think the city is moving in the right direction,” he said. 

Pointing out that Hong Kong is an international transportation hub with people from different cultures and backgrounds coming and going every day, Fukuda said it is easy to understand the concern of its people. 

But it is necessary to recognize that the enemy is the coronavirus, he reminded, while calling on the public to stay united other than turn against each other.

The most important thing in the fight against the virus is to keep the public informed with the latest updates on the development of the outbreak, he said. That can help mobilize people’s support in managing the crisis.  

It could make a difference when the information is open and transparent, Fukuda said.