According to the statement, all countries need to focus on early action by strengthening the health care systems, especially improving warning procedures. The experts criticized the failure of governments, public institutions, and the media to respond adequately to the coronavirus.
They said the response must also be led by civil society, including distribution actions by local communities. While the pandemic limits face-to-face interaction, they said communication technology must be improved.
"It is vitally important to get ahead of the curve in dealing with such global crises. We emphasize that public health measures must be initiated instantaneously in every country to combat the continuing spread of this virus. The need for testing at scale must be recognized and acted upon, and people who test positive for COVID-19 must be quarantined, along with their close contacts," the statement reads.
The support for scientific communities should be expanded on. They said there should be a better understanding of zoonotic diseases, such as infectious illnesses caused by bacteria or viruses that are spread to humans from animals.
They said this might also require the reshaping of food-related animal production systems to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases and involve greater research into human behavior under psychological stress better to understand the government's response.
"Strengthening basic research enhances the capacity to detect, to respond, and to ultimately prevent or at least mitigate catastrophes such as pandemics. Science needs better funding at a national and transnational level, so that scientists have the means to discover the right drugs and vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies have a key responsibility to produce those drugs at scale if possible," they said.