Taiwan has no barriers to obtaining information on the pneumonia outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Tuesday.

Considering the life and health of Taiwan compatriots, the mainland has updated the island on information on the prevention and control of the epidemic several times since the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, Ma said.

Specifically, the mainland has notified Taiwan that the mainland has shared the gene sequence of the novel coronavirus and the access to it with the World Health Organization, he said.

The mainland also timely updated the island with the information on Taiwan compatriots who have been diagnosed with the infection on the mainland, he added.

At the request of the disease control department of the island, the mainland has four experts from Taiwan visiting Wuhan, the outbreak center. The two sides have strengthened communication, which played a positive role in the joint prevention and control of the epidemic, according to the spokesman.

Ma said that the prevention and control of the epidemic with all efforts is the most important and urgent task at present, which concerns the lives of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

He urged the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party of the island, to stop all political hype and political manipulation with the excuse of the epidemic and stop interfering with the prevention and control of the epidemic.