Tong, who was honored last year as a role model in fighting COVID-19, is heading a working group on the frontline of epidemic control in Hebei, which has reported recent cases.

The expert, who is also vice president of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, was among the first batch of medical experts to be sent to Wuhan, Hubei Province in central China, the region where novel coronavirus cases were first reported last year.

Tong is a veteran in fighting epidemics. In 2003, during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, he was appointed director of a SARS ward, treating over 100 patients, all of whom recovered.