This comment discusses the contribution of population movement to the spread of COVID-19, with a reference to the spread of SARS 17 years ago. The authors argue that the changing geography of migration, the diversification of jobs taken by migrants, the rapid growth of tourism and business trips, and the longer distance taken by people for family reunion are what make the spread of COVID-19 so differently from that of SARS. These changes in population movement are expected to continue. Hence, new strategies in disease prevention and control should be taken accordingly. These include:

1. More equitable distribution of health resources
2. Increased authority and standard for local authorities to raise the capability needed for dealing with public health events
3. Better use of real-time data and new technologies for epidemiological surveillance and for disease control
4. More emphasis on the national stockpile of medical equipment such as ventilators, masks and gowns
5. Motivation to understand that increasingly, either internally or internationally we are all migrants