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BEIJING, March 16-- Amid the rapid global outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a couple of Chinese experts gathered Monday for a video press briefing to share with the world the lessons from battling the epidemic. Members of a national medical team sent to the hard-hit city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, from Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital underlined early-stage action to counter the disease. PREVENTION AND CONTROL PRIMARY Preventing and controlling is the most important thing in the battle, as treatment is only secondary, while prevention and control have primary effects, said Du Bin, medical ICU director of the hospital. "You must have plans, and failure to prepare is preparedness for failure," he noted, saying that even now, with fewer newly reported cases in Wuhan, they should stay alert. When asked about specific measures of prevention and control, Du simply stressed "test, test and test." "Apart from testing, I have no idea how you can identify suspected cases and how to quarantine close contacts," he said, adding that the turning point of the epidemic outbreak in Wuhan only came when all suspected patients and close contacts were isolated. BETTER CARE FOR MEDICAL STAFF Yan Xiaowei, an internal medicine expert with the PUMC Hospital, highlighted the importance of taking good care of medical workers as it is the precondition for offering good care to patients and protecting their colleagues and family members. | 
