On February 3, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe H.E. Guo Shaochun gave an interview to ZBC and Herald on China's fight against the new coronavirus.
He reviews the latest developments in the outbreak and China’s measures in tackling the virus at home and promoting international cooperation. Ambassador Guo stressed that since the outbreak, the Chinese government has put the people's life and health above everything else, adopting the most comprehensive measures, many far beyond what is required by the International Health Regulations. Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, commended China for “setting a new standard for outbreak control”.
Ambassador Guo said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the prevention and mitigation of the epidemic. Overseeing the national response himself, Chinese President Xi Jinping has given important instructions and convened a meeting of members of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the first day of the lunar New Year. China has built an all-round, multi-level epidemic-control system, with the focus on Wuhan and Hubei province. The system is working in an open, transparent, scientific and orderly way. A number of unprecedented steps have been taken, including extending the lunar New Year holiday and delaying the start of spring semester. All provinces have strengthened the inspection of outbound travelers to control the spread of the virus. The Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan was built within a few days to provide 1,000 beds and it started accepting patients today. Leishenshan hospital, an even larger one will be delivered in a few more days. At present, more than 6,000 medical workers and 52 medical teames from all over the country are working in Wuhan. The government is also making sure food and medical supplies to the affected area. So far, China has earmarked 27.3 billion yuan (US$3.94 billion) for epidemic prevention and control.
Ambassador Guo said the Chinese central government has shared information about the outbreak with the WHO and relevant countries regions and provided information such as the virus genome sequence at the earlies time possible. A WHO expert team has arrived in Wuhan for a field study and commended China’s effective response.
Ambassador Guo said the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe is committed to helping to protect Zimbabwe from the outbreak. It is sharing information with the Zimbabwean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of health, airports, border crossings, and other relevant authorities. It has required Chinese citizens to cooperate with the screening measures by Zimbabwean authorities at the points of entry. The Embassy has released four consular notices to advise the members of the Chinese community in Zimbabwe who traveled back to the regions in China seriously hit by the virus, such as Hubei province, to postpone their return. The Embassy also asked those who recently returned from these regions to undergo a two-week self-quarantine at home and seek medical treatment immediately and report to the embassy if suspected symptoms appear.
Ambassador Guo stressed the WHO have full confidence in China capacity to win the battle against the virus. Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus repeatedly said there is no reason to take unnecessary measures to interfere with international travel and trade. It is important to stay calm in the current situation and not to overreact. Ambassador Guo expressed appreciation to the Zimbabwean government and society for their scientific and rational assessment of the situation, the appropriate and reasonable response, and their understanding and support for China. The Chinese Embassy will continued to work with Zimbabwe to prevent the spread of the outbreak to Zimbabwe and protect the wellbeing of Chinese and Zimbabweans alike.