Modernising infectious disease surveillance and an early-warning system: The need for China's action

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 gave impetus to the establishment of an internet-based timely reporting system in China, that has improved the efficiency of the Infectious Disease Surveillance System. The re-analysis of SARS data and proposed use of hotspot mapping as a tool for early identification of outbreak area(s) for quarantine provided a rationale for locking down1 when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) entered Wuhan, China. The implementation of the Chinese Infectious Disease Automated-Alert and Response System since 2008 has further facilitated the timely response to disease outbreaks.