The Jiangmen city government has initiated a Level III response to the sudden public health emergencies over the weekend, requiring related departments and residents to introduce concrete and effective measures to cope with the spread of Chikungunya fever in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city.

Zhou Peishan, vice-mayor of Jiangmen, said the city government attaches great importance to Chikungunya prevention and control and will further strengthen command and dispatching, and coordinate forces from all parties to enhance the regional joint prevention and control work.

Meanwhile, the city government plans to engage all relevant departments, entities and the public to fulfill the "four-party responsibilities", making every effort to quickly contain the spread of Chikungunya fever in the city, known as "the hometown of overseas Chinese", she said.

Located in the western Pearl River delta, Jiangmen has more than 4 million overseas Chinese residents around the world.

In addition to a mosquito control campaign, relevant departments are instructed to prepare adequate designated hospitals for treatment, ward beds and testing reagents, while mobilizing expert teams to provide diagnosis and personalized treatment and nursing plans for key groups, including the elderly, children, pregnant and lying-in women, and patients with underlying conditions, Zhou said.

As of Friday, the city reported 1,714 cases of Chikungunya fever since the first case was identified on July 16.

"All patients have developed mild symptoms," she said.

Chikungunya fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the Chikungunya virus, mainly with clinical symptoms including fever, rashes and joint pains, and can occur in people of all ages.

The virus is transmitted to humans through bites from infected Aedes mosquitoes, commonly known as spotted mosquitoes.