China, Africa to hold video conferences on COVID-19

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China and African countries will hold a series of video conferences on COVID-19 in the face of the rapid spread of the pandemic in Africa, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Monday.

The conferences, organized by China's Foreign Ministry and National Health Commission, will enable Chinese medical professionals to share with African officials and experts on epidemic prevention and control, clinical diagnosis and treatment, test methods, border quarantine and risk assessment, spokesperson Geng Shuang told a daily press briefing.

The first such video conference was held Monday.

Geng said China relates deeply to the difficulties posed by the pandemic to African countries, and will continue to provide its utmost support and assistance to Africa through various means.

"China will provide more medical supplies and send more medical experts to Africa in light of the development of the pandemic and the needs of African countries," Geng said.

China will speed up the construction of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and strengthen public health and disease control cooperation with the African side, to jointly win the battle against the virus at an early date, he added.