Information about novel coronavirus shall be passed on in rational manner
By
People’s Daily
The
voices for rationality have been passed on in the international community by
international organizations, foreign governments, scholars and media outlets to
inform the public what’s going on and maintain social stability amid the recent
outbreak of the novel coronavirus that attracted high attention.
UN
Secretary-General
António Guterres on Feb. 4 gave high credit to China’s efforts in combating the
novel coronavirus, calling for international solidarity and an end to any
ill-founded discrimination of the outbreak’s victims.
China has
mobilized enormous resources and enormous capacity to respond, and the UN has
full recognition of that effort, the UN chief noted.
WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also warned of the dangers posed by
“spreading rumors and misinformation”. He believes that countries should
clarify misinformation and keep sharing information with the WHO, and defeat
this outbreak by working together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation.
At the
press conference held by the WHO Tuesday, February 4, the health organization
launched an information platform of epidemic diseases which, according to WHO
Director of Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness Sylvie Briand, provides a new
channel for enterprises, media and the public to acquire epidemic information.
Italian
Ministry of Health announced on the same day that it has reached an agreement
with Twitter to contain the fake news about the novel coronavirus outbreak on
the social media platform. The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, noted that
they must properly mange the spreading of information and combat fake news.
Singaporean
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the government will release
information as soon as it can, and advised people to verify relevant
information with public channels such as the government’s page on social media
and mainstream media.
Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen called on pressmen and mainstream media to report the
epidemic based on truth and contain the misinformation on social media
platforms. In recent days, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health has released
statements, opened lectures and held press conferences to spread relevant
knowledge and raise the public’s capability of identifying information.
The Tourism
Authority of Thailand has set up a crisis operation center to control the
epidemic information about the tourism industry, so as to make immediate
response and guide the public.
Mikhail
Varshavski, known as “Doctor Mike” on U.S. social media, has millions of
followers. He recently made a video titled The
Truths About Novel Coronavirus, calling on people to look for reputable
organizations to get information from. “Alert, but not anxious,” he says in the
video. So far, the video has been watched 4.8 million times.
Harvard
Health Publishing under Harvard Medical School recently published articles on
social media to inform the public about the novel coronavirus and remind them
of the importance of getting reliable information. In one of the articles, Dr.
Todd Ellerin introduced in detail the symptoms of the novel coronavirus
infection – something that causes the most public concern.
“In the U.S.,
the average person is at extremely low risk of catching this novel coronavirus.
This winter, in fact, we are much more likely to get influenza B — the flu —
than any other virus,” Ellerin said in the article.
Marc Van
Ranst, dean of the School of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation at the
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium told People’s Daily that comprehensive and precise information helps
global scientists make correct judgement over the epidemic and contribute
proper strategies. Chinese scientists have made huge contribution by sharing
the sequencing of the novel coronavirus with the international society, he
said.
The
website of the American National Public Radio noted that because of poor
survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk
of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or
weeks at ambient temperatures.
News site
VOX made a special coverage for the novel coronavirus and denied that the
outbreak would turn into a global epidemic, citing WHO information. It gave a
high recognition on China’s quick response to the outbreak.
The
internet is spammed by misinformation, much of which is unsupported and in lack
of scientific ground, said Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics, Department of
Population Health at Langone Medical Center, New York University. Media and
scholars play a vital role under such circumstances, the professor noted,
adding that social media shall identify false information, and scholars should
also share science-based views to better help people judge the situation.
Information about novel coronavirus shall be passed on in rational manner
Reviewed by PEOPLES MAIL
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