Shanghai-based Shangying Internet Healthcare announced on Wednesday its launch of an anti-COVID-19 global medical consultation platform, providing 24-hour online consultation for free to more than 60 million Chinese living abroad, as well as overseas friends who were impacted by the virus.

By leveraging Shanghai public hospitals' successful experience in fighting against the epidemic and Shangying's international insights, the platform will share China's best practices in epidemic prevention and related medical treatment to help those in need.

As the first internet hospital in Shanghai, Shangying Internet Healthcare actively integrated Shanghai's medical and health resources during the early stages of the epidemic.

According to the company, by now, the establishment of its consultation platform has provided online medical and consultation services to more than 24 million residents in Shanghai through multi-terminal linkage, and has received more than 150,000 visits in 30 days, which has achieved high recognition by relevant Shanghai government officials.

"Internet medical service is user-oriented to efficiently energize and redistribute medical resources and industries. It will break the regional limits of medical services, allocating medical resources more reasonably and efficiently. It is our duty to introduce China's successful experience to the world and benefit more people," said Zhao Liyu, executive vice-president of Shangying Internet Healthcare.

Data from drug information platform DXY.com showed that by 6pm on March 18, there were a total of 100,586 confirmed COVID-19 cases in more than 130 countries and regions outside China, up 11 percent on a daily basis.

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the viral disease that has swept into at least 114 countries and killed more than 4,000 people a pandemic.

"This is the first pandemic caused by coronavirus," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.