Other countries should learn from China and adopt more stringent measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic despite possible negative short-term impacts on their economies and public freedom, the international medical journal The Lancet said, according to media reports.

Medical supplies donated by local Chinese community to the emergency center in Piemonte, Italy, Feb. 28, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

In an editorial published on Saturday, the journal warns that the window for global containment is closing and poorer countries with weak health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East will be particularly vulnerable to a pandemic.