Medical experts from China, U.S., and Europe exchanged ideas and shared experiences in the prevention, control, and treatment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a live-streamed international symposium on April 6.

The online symposium, named the International Symposium on COVID-19 Treatment, held multiple parallel sessions around the globe and attracted a total of 45,000 participants.

Facing newly emerged and sudden major infectious diseases, the immediate inclusion of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating diseases may be vital to epidemic prevention and control before relevant vaccines and specific medicines have been developed and produced, said Tong Xiaolin, head of the medical treatment team of China’s National Administration of TCM.

While continuing to implement adequate prevention and control measures against the disease, attention should also be paid to rehabilitation training for patients, said Xia Wenguang, head of the medical expert team for the treatment of COVID-19 of the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese & Western Medicine.

Xia’s team has established a rehabilitation area for COVID-19 patients, the first of its kind in China. The area offers patients TCM therapies based on modern rehabilitation treatment, including the ancient Chinese martial art of Tai Chi, depending on each patient’s actual condition.

Christoph Gutenbrunner, vice president of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance and director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Hannover Medical School, agreed with Xia’s idea of setting up a systematic rehabilitation scheme for patients.

At the same time, Gutenbrunner said efforts should be made to collect and organize relevant guidelines on the treatment of COVID-19, including some very good Chinese guidelines, so that front-line medical workers can receive better instruction in their work.

Major infectious diseases are the common enemy of all mankind, said Song Jun, a member of the secretariat of the China Association for Science and Technology.

Human beings can only tackle major challenges to global public health security by enhancing international cooperation, Song stressed, saying that China’s science and technology sector is willing to contribute to the establishment of a stable global prevention and control system for major infectious diseases.

The symposium was hosted by the China Association of Chinese Medicine and co-organized by the Tasly Holding Group, American Chinese Medicine Association, and Tasly Foundation.

The Tasly Foundation, a public welfare foundation of leading pharmaceutical Chinese company Tasly Holding Group, will offer TCM granules to the relevant parties for the clinical treatment of 1,000 mild cases of COVID-19 and TCM granules for disease prevention to 1,000 people who are close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, announced Yan Xijun, vice president of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and chairman of the board of Tasly Holding Group.