Chinese authorities have already allocated and spent some $12 billion on fighting the coronavirus-induced pneumonia, Wang Xiaolong, head of Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Economic Affairs disclosed Thursday during a briefing, Trend reports citing TASS.
"About $12 billion have already been allocated and mostly spent inside the country to fight the COVID-19 during the first months of the epidemic," he said.
In January, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, characterizing it as an epidemic with multiple locations.
As of today, 196 countries and territories reported confirmed coronavirus cases. According to the latest reports, over 457,000 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, while more than 21,000 people died of the disease.