The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABIT), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and Metropolis held an online seminar on March 25th, inviting cities and associations to share their prevention and control tactics for COVID-19.

[Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

The seminar attracted about 100 representatives from 11 cities (including Guangzhou, Xi’an, Rome, Lampedusa, Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Montevideo, Durban, Teheran) and international associations such as International Organization for Public Transportation and UCLG.

The seminar was hosted by Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of UCLG, and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-HABIT.

Tang Xiaoping, Director of Guangzhou Health Commission, and Liu Baochun, Director of Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office both participated.

Tang Xiaoping said Guangzhou has effectively taken control of the epidemic now, and highlighted a series of measures taken by the city; a pattern of “early detection, reporting, isolation and treatment” and that Guangzhou has striven to “treat the infected in dedicated facilities staffed by senior medical professionals from all over the country". The city also stressed a science-based and legal approach on epidemic control and strengthening society-wide efforts during this process.

Tang added that Guangzhou is now taking strict measures to control imported infection and it’s ready to cooperate with its overseas partners to fight against the virus.

[Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Maimunah Mohd Sharif appealed for collective effort from global cities and regional government, while Saiz highly praised Chinese cities including Guangzhou for their achievements in controlling the epidemic.

To help contain the epidemic, the UN-Habitat, UCLG and Metropolis have jointly boosted international communication and cooperation through online platforms and various online seminars.

Author: Jasmine, Zoey(intern)

Editor: Keane, Simon