The World Health Organization has said that China's "ambitious, agile and aggressive" control measures are old-fashioned but effective in curbing the outbreak of COVID-19. They're not unique to China and nothing new. Our ancestors did this many times. Now, Italy has closed off 11 cities and towns to contain the spread.

Facing an unknown disease with no specific remedy, China has resorted to social intervention despite suspicion and criticism of the necessity and feasibility of these measures. They are simple: Mass isolation and travel restrictions.

This task has not been easy, given its scale; locking down cities and then a whole province of 60 million people, and mobilizing national resources to find and cure patients, and ensure normal life. It involves the government and society, even if cooperation requires enforcement.

It worked. After a nine-day field inspection tour, WHO Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward said "This approach of all-of-government and all-of-society" has "Probably prevented at least tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of cases."

He became emotional, saying "To the people of Wuhan, it is recognized that the world is in your debt." His bigger message to the world is that "China has also played a critical role in protecting the international community, buying precious time for countries to adopt active prevention and control measures and providing them with worthwhile experience."

With the emergence of clusters of infection in other countries, Aylward said strategies adopted by China can be implemented on other continents. Measures are simple – quickly locating and quarantining close contacts, and suspending public gatherings. They can also be flexible – either for a town, a community, a building or households, depending on circumstances.

But the question is, are you willing, and how determined are you to do what must be done? It has nothing to do with politics, ideology, nationality, race or religion. The virus cares nothing for that. It only makes people sick and can kill, so countermeasures are needed to cut off contagion and save lives. Individual rights have to give way to public safety.

But it might be a tough choice – some still travel and gather; others cite human rights; still others prefer self-rule. All of these are things the virus ignores wherever it goes.

Wuhan has bought time and is still fighting hard. Now the world needs to act decisively before it's too late.

Su Yi is a current affairs reporter of China Plus. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.