Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases have been a significant challenge to public health all over the globe and have rendered the health of people in many countries at stake. Be it, the mortalities due to Ebola virus in Africa, the HIV epidemic in the world or the popping up of new deadly pathogens like Zika, Congo or Dengue, which caused major casualties around the world and have put global health authorities and organizations in an alarming situation. Similarly, the New Year-2020 was welcomed by novel coronavirus on 31 December 2019 in a seafood market of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China where a cluster of people was infected with pneumonia-like illness and subsequently transmitted it to the other people and since then the disease is continuously spreading to other countries exponentially. According to the latest figures by WHO official website (open to the public), the number of cases as of 29 January 2020 was 6,065 globally with 132 deaths. The majority of the cases are from China, totaling to 5,997 confirmed cases whereas this novel virus has further extended its tentacles to Europe- France & Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Malaysia, Nepal and UAE. The number of cases is increasing exponentially; however, thanks to the timely efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose swift preventive measures have limited further transmission of the virus to the countries with weak health systems. Besides, WHO is also supporting the health ministries of various countries for necessary preparations in case this deadly virus attacks them. As the virus is still new, so we do not have complete information about the virus, but let us first understand what knowledge we have got about this fatal pathogen and use this information to timely identify and limit its further transmission. The countries should enhance their laboratory capacities to diagnose cases swiftly and if they do not have advanced laboratory capabilities, it is necessary to have a viable system for transporting samples to neighboring countries for diagnosis Coronavirus (CoV), a large group of viruses, have been named so because of the circular-shaped protein spikes that surround its genetic material located in the center. The new virus is a member of the family of Coronavirus; thus, named as novel Coronavirus (nCoV-2019). Other lethal siblings (pathogens) are Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS-CoV, first identified in China in 2003 and the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome-MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Different from both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which were transmitted by civet cats and dromedary camels respectively, the etiology of the younger member of this family is still unknown. However, what is known are the commonalities of their pneumonia-like symptoms in the infected individuals; cold, difficulty breathing and in severe cases kidney failure can also occur. Case fatality rate (CFR) frequently changes with the casualties of the virus but it is currently 2.8%. Similarly, it is for general public information that the mode of transmission between humans to humans is through the air -droplets i.e. cough and sneezes from the patient that contains viruses and spreads to other people. This was the information regarding the novel coronavirus (nCoV-2019); now, let us discuss what steps countries, particularly Pakistan, should do in order to stop the lethal virus from crossing their borders. The preparedness is essential for Pakistan, as it is the immediate neighbor and major “CPEC” trade partner of China with more than 20 direct or indirect flights from China that land at major airports. Additionally, China hosts around 500,000 Pakistani students who travel back and forth and could be the primary source of virus transmission. Additionally, following measures should be taken by the countries as preventive measures to limit further transmission in the situation when nCoV-2019 attacks. Firstly, the countries should perform active screening at their international airports and well equip the Quarantine Station, which will restrict the movement of ill persons within their borders. Additionally, for the identification of cases at airports, it is crucial to know the symptoms of a virus that includes fever with cough and shortness of breath. Secondly, the countries should actively find people who have a travel history to Wuhan, China in the past few months and monitor them carefully if they have any similar illness. As countries are at the increased risk of nCoV-2019 outbreak, they should always be prepared for the outbreak and keep in mind the following measures. Thirdly, the countries should enhance their laboratory capacities to diagnose cases swiftly and if they do not have advanced laboratory capabilities, it is necessary to have a viable system for transporting samples to neighboring countries for diagnosis. Fourthly, the countries should increase health promotional activities to restrain further transmission of the virus. Also, the public should know that these preventive measures can save them from this deadly disease. The activities include handwashing, covering mouth and nose at the crowded places, avoiding close contact with sick people. Lastly, the health ministries of the high-risk countries should follow WHO detailed guidelines on nCoV-2019 for prior preparedness for prevention as it is will be very difficult to control the virus once itunleashed within the fragile borders of our healthcare system. The writer is a Chevening Alumni and former scholar from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine