Medical staff in protective gear work at a 'drive-thru' testing center for the novel coronavirus disease of COVID-19 in Yeungnam University Medical Center in Daegu, South Korea, March 3, 2020. (Photo: Agencies)

China and South Korea have established a joint prevention and control mechanism on coping with the novel coronavirus and held their first video conference on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press conference in Beijing.

The mechanism aims to implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication and coordination in order to win the battle against the virus at an early date, he said.

According to Geng, the mechanism, headed by the two countries' foreign ministries, involves officials from departments of public health, education, customs, immigration and civil aviation.

During the conference, both sides spoke positively of their individual epidemic control efforts in the early stage, as well as bilateral exchanges and cooperation between relevant departments, he said.

The two sides also discussed priorities and specific measures for strengthening joint prevention and control in the future and agreed to hold the mechanism conference irregularly according to epidemic work needs, Geng said.