A passenger wearing a protective face mask, amid concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak, walks in Linate Airport in Milan, Italy on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Europe is incorporating what has been learned from China in its novel coronavirus fight, said the Switzerland-based European Respiratory Society (ERS), while praising China's increased transparency and rapid sharing of information.  

From China's experience with COVID-19, health professionals and scientists in Europe have already learned much about outcomes in different risk groups, rapid diagnosis, possible new therapies that could be tried, and "very importantly of the value of a containment strategy by quarantining," the ERS told the Global Times in an email on Tuesday. 

ERS appreciates the increased transparency and rapid sharing of clinical information and case series outcomes from Chinese teams, which have been invaluable, the ERS said. 

Europe has been seeing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, with the disease leading to some 12,000 infection cases in Europe. Italy, the worst-hit nation in Europe, took the drastic decision to lock down the entire country on Tuesday.

The ERS said that much work is going into COVID-19 outbreak preparations in Europe with the guidance of the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

"The aim is for coordination of plans and to incorporate what has been learned from countries that already have significant experience of COVID-19, such as China," the ERS said. 

Zhong Nanshan, a top respiratory specialist, shared China's experience with the ERS 10 days ago through live-streaming, and the ERS called Zhong's presentation "very useful and comprehensive" on clinical care and research. 

The ERS will further cooperate with China in joint educational activities to share the lessons learned from the outbreak, and it is also discussing the possibility of joint research activities with China.