Meanwhile China is struggling to contain the viral outbreak centered in Wuhan where the medical supplies are increasingly under stress, the Pakistani government has sent its first consignment of aid to China to facilitate the Chinese government’s fight against deadly novel Coronavirus.
The Pakistani government has allocated 300,000 medical masks, 800 hazmat suits and 6,800 pairs of gloves from the stocks of public hospitals around the nation and transported the aid to China. The medical supplies from Pakistan arrived in China on Saturday 1st February. The Spokesperson of China’s ministry of foreign affairs also made a comment about aid received from Pakistan. He said, “To help China fight against #nCoV, Russia, Pakistan, ROK, Belarus, France, Germany, Malaysia and UNICEF and many others are providing assistance and support to China. Thanks to you all! A friend in need is a friend indeed,” tweeted the spokesperson.
This move by Pakistan although, not enough but represents the gesture by the Pakistani state and the people to show solidarity with their brethren in China. The people of Pakistan are also standing with the Chinese nation. 29 years old Usman, a Pakistani teacher at Changsha Medical College,is voluntarily on ground-zero in Wuhan, helping out with the medical emergency. Usman graduated from Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with a bachelor’s degree in 2012, and a master’s degree in medicine at Central South University in Changsha. After graduation, he became a foreign teacher at Changsha Medical College. During the four years since his return to his hometown, he has always been unable to forget China and Changsha, he said that China has provided him with good opportunities for education and employment and realized his dream.
Central Government Aware and Alert
In ancient times, the Chinese used to say, “The Mountains are high and the Emperor is far” to represent the lack of coordination between the central and local governments. This time however as soon as the intensity of the outbreak was reported by the Local government, the Central Government sprang into action. First Wuhan with 11 Million inhabitants was sealed off. Then 8 adjoining cities were sealed off too making the total number of people sealed to 56 million.
The China Development Bank, one of the country’s major policy banks, offered emergency loans worth 2 billion Yuan (about 288.3 million U.S. dollars) Friday to Wuhan for prevention and control of the novel coronavirus. The country’s finance ministry Thursday allocated 1 billion Yuan to support Hubei’s battle against the prevention and coordination of the virus. Authorities in Wuhan decided to build two makeshift hospitals — Huoshenshan with 700 to 1,000 beds and Leishenshan with a capacity of 1,300 to 1,500 beds to treat the infected patients. The construction of the two facilities is underway. The Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals will be put into use on Feb. 3 and Feb. 6, respectively.
China won’t hide facts
What is something to be commended is that instead of hiding the situation, the Chinese authorities have declared all the facts and even made an updated website for the continuous sharing of information regarding the viral outbreak The WHO has shown complete trust in China’s efforts to contain the virus, which shows the global body’s trust on the Chinese authorities.
In a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom, the Chinese President said, “The virus is a devil and we cannot let the devil hide” stressing that China will not hide anything and will pursue all out measures against the viral outbreak transparently. The WHO Chief was satisfied and said that China’s speed, scale and efficiency of response is rarely seen in the world,. This is the advantage of the Chinese system, and the experience is worth learning for other countries. He also added that the measures taken by China are not only protecting the Chinese people, but also the people of the world.
The world has appreciated China’s efforts. President Trump tweeted “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
Some good news
In this ever apocalyptic situation however there is good news too. First the fatality rate of (2019-nCoV) is 2.8% as compared to 10% of that of SARS. Secondly, the Chinese had learnt some painful but valuable experiences during the SARS epidemic, which this time around was useful for prevention. Thirdly, initial vaccines have been made and are currently being tested in lab to see their effects. Fourthly, due to the involvement of technology in Chinese system, it has been easier to identify the movement and spread of the virus. Various apps have been launched to the public so that they may identify potential carriers and keep themselves and their families safe.
China, acting as a mature and responsible global player is voluntarily bearing the brunt of the viral outbreak in physical, emotional and economic terms. Some of the responses are rather severe, nonetheless necessary to stop the virus from becoming a global problem. The world has to acknowledge these steps and support and strengthen the Chinese fight against the virus. Support can come in ways of medical equipment, expertise and information sharing. The world must bring its act together to save humanity.
