BEIJING - China has responded swiftly to the COVID-19 public health emergency, said a white paper released on Sunday, adding that the rising spread of the virus was contained in little more than a single month.

As soon as cases of pneumonia of unknown cause were identified in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China acted immediately to conduct etiological and epidemiological investigations and to stop the spread of the disease, and promptly reported the situation, said the white paper "Fighting COVID-19: China in Action" released by the State Council Information Office.

In a timely manner, China informed the World Health Organization and other countries, including the United States, of the developing situation, and released the genome sequence of the novel coronavirus, it said.

After community spread and clusters of cases emerged in Wuhan, and confirmed cases were reported in other Chinese regions, which were due to virus carriers traveling from the city, a nationwide program of epidemic prevention and control was launched, it added.

It said in little more than a single month, the rising spread of the virus was contained; in around two months, the daily increase in coronavirus cases had fallen to single digits; and in approximately three months, a decisive victory was secured in the battle to defend Hubei province and its capital city of Wuhan.