Vigilance required

Li Lanjuan, a senior adviser to the commission, also said last week that she's been deeply worried that the influx of infected travelers might trigger a second wave of infections in China. "We're confronted with a grim task ahead that is set to test whether we are able to tightly and strictly seal off our line of defense and avert a resurgence of the virus," she said in an interview.

In working to minimize the risk of a widening pandemic, authorities in China have already taken several measures to ramp up monitoring of returnees, reduce international flights and restrict entry for foreign nationals.

If the comprehensive response mechanism that entails proactive and prompt screening and quarantine can continue to be forcefully implemented, the chance of a fresh outbreak in China is slim, according to Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory disease expert and epidemiologist.

"Based on the society-wide approach, new infections will be limited to a very small group, which will not amount to an outbreak. The prerequisite is to stay alert and actively test and isolate cases as some infected arrivals from abroad are highly contagious," Zhong told China Central Television on Friday.

Zhang Wenhong, leader of the Shanghai team of experts in the treatment of COVID-19 cases, also said that the main task of epidemic control for China at the moment is to curb the virus' spread from overseas. He said the task is "much easier compared with bringing the Wuhan situation under control in late January".

Zhang said there is no need for the public to be overly worried that the resumption of production in the country might trigger a reoccurrence of the epidemic.

"People don't need to be overly concerned as the country's fever clinic system and public health monitoring network still work at their highest capacity," he said during a live broadcast during which experts from home and abroad shared their experiences fighting the epidemic in different countries on Sunday.