http://www.bjreview.com FEBRUARY 13, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 19
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
Comments to [email protected]help develop antibody tests and start ex-
periments on animals.
China’s timely and transparent move
was recognized worldwide. Jeremy Farrar,
head of Wellcome Trust, a research charity
in London, tweeted that China’s move was a
“potentially really important moment in glob-
al public health,” adding that the “sharing of
data is good for public health, great for those
who did the work.” U.S. Health Secretary Alex
Azar noted that China made the virus’ genet-
ic sequence available to scientists promptly,
helping the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to create a rapid diagnostic test
in a week’s time.
Moreover, China also provided assis-
tance to other countries’ disease control
efforts. For example, China alerted German
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human-to-human transmission of the virus
in Europe, a man who had contact with a vis-
iting colleague from Shanghai. By translating
thePublic Prevention of Pneumonia Caused
by Novel Coronavirus, a book of guidelines,
into six foreign languages, namely English,
French, Russian, German, Japanese and
Korean, China encouraged other countries
to draw from its experience in preventing
the spread of infection.
For countries that evacuated their citi-
zens from Wuhan, the Chinese Government
maintains close communication and coordi-
nation.
Hubei set up a 24-hour hotline for for-
eign citizens to access advice and assistance.
A special column titled Fighting 2019-nCoV
is available on the Foreign Ministry’s website,
providing the latest information from the
National Health Commission to keep for-
eigners updated.
All inbound and outbound Chinese
group tours have been temporarily sus-
pended. People have also been advised to be
“responsible global citizens” and not travel
abroad in order to reduce risks to other
countries.
While shouldering its global responsibil-
ity, China is making all-out efforts to contain
the virus’ spread and treat those affected
within the country. People in Wuhan and sur-
rounding cities have been requested not to
travel. Most provinces and major cities have
activated their highest level of emergency
response.
Global response
China’s response impressed Dr. Tedros, who
said, “I will praise China again and again because
its actions actually helped in reducing the
spread of the novel coronavirus to other coun-
tries.”
As of February 3, 153 people were diag-
nosed with 2019-nCoV outside China, 15 of
them were cured and one Chinese national
died in the Philippines. “We would have seen
many more cases outside China by now, and
probably deaths, if it were not for the govern-
ment’s efforts and the progress they have made
to protect their own people and the people of
the world,” Dr. Tedros said.
As the epidemic continues, unease and
worries are mounting, which is understandable.
But in some parts of the world, concern has
turned into discrimination and racism against
Chinese people. Experts are asking people to
treat this epidemic in a rational and scientific
way. Diseases do not discriminate against race,
ethnicity, country or gender.
“We need to explore various channels to
explain to foreigners that this is a public health
event, not a matter of nationality or even
race,” said Zhang Guihong, Director of the
Center for the United Nations and International
Organizations at Fudan University. “More
importantly, we will continue to inform the
international community in a timely, objective,
transparent and professional manner. We will
also help countries with weak health systems to
actively carry out preventive actions.”
“We cannot allow a virus of fear and
xenophobia to destroy our global relations
at any level,” Tom Watkins, an adviser to the
Michigan-China Innovation Center in the U.S.,
toldBeijing Review. This virus should teach
us that a wall will not prevent an epidemic
and that we are truly better when we work
together, he added.
China’s fight against the 2019-nCoV has
gained support and encouragement worldwide.Epidemic prevention and control supplies sent
by other countries and international organiza-
tions have been arriving in China.
Many multinational companies and
wealthy individuals have also reached out.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation an-
nounced a $10-million donation to first
responders in China and Africa, including $5
million for international cooperation, treat-
ment and vaccine development. Boeing
donated 250,000 medical-grade respiratory
masks to people in Wuhan.
“We call for more support from the U.S.,
the EU and other developed countries in
medical equipment and supplies, as well as
their best practices in epidemic control,” said a
report published by the Shanghai Institutes for
International Studies, a prestigious think tank in
China.
“A viral epidemic is the common enemy
of all humanity,” said Zhu Feng, Dean of
the Institute of International Relations of
Nanjing University. “It’s also a major threat
to the world economy and people’s daily life.
Therefore, countries should strengthen co-
operation and work together to address this
challenge.”
The control and eventual win over the
novel coronavirus epidemic is not China’s
responsibility alone, but the common re-
sponsibility of the international community,
Zhu added. Q&XVWRPVRIĶFLDOVLQVSHFWSURWHFWLYHVXLWVGRQDWHGE\IRUHLJQJRYHUQPHQWVDQGFRPSDQLHVDWWKH&KDQJVKD
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