BEIJING — China will continue to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise around the world, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said on March 23.

With the continuous rise in the number of confirmed cases around the globe, many countries have urged people to self-quarantine, said Mi Feng with the NHC, adding that the Chinese side will continue to enhance international cooperation in epidemic control.

China has taken coordinated efforts and targeted measures to curb cross-border COVID-19 transmission, according to Mi.

On March 22, Chinese health authorities received reports of 39 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland, all of which were imported. A total of 353 imported cases had been reported on the mainland by the end of March 22.