Technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Program Maria van Kerkhove (R) speaks during a daily briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Program and also a member of the international team that visited China in February, said she was impressed then by the public health infrastructure, the systems in place and the strong workforce in China to deal with infectious diseases and COVID-19, which is being activated in many other countries.

"Let's celebrate the successes where we can, (and) not become complacent because it's not over, but be at the ready ... So we look forward to more celebrations of success in the sharing of knowledge across the world," she said.