【明報專訊】THE EPIDEMIC of novel pneumonia has come to a major turning point. Although the epidemic seems to have slowed down in China in recent days, large-scale community outbreaks have been recorded one after another across countries all over the world. While confirmed cases spiked in South Korea and Iran reported at least 12 deaths, Italy imposed a lockdown across many towns to contain the outbreak. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) admits that the chance of containing the epidemic by lockdown measures is getting smaller and smaller. Some international experts even suggest that the outbreak is looking more and more like a ''global pandemic''. As the global development of the epidemic enters a new stage, the anti-epidemic strategy is also facing changes. Nimbyism will get people nowhere. The global community has to make concerted efforts to focus on mitigating the strain caused by the outbreak on healthcare as well as the related impacts on societies. Hong Kong should also make timely adjustments to its strategy accordingly.