International society calls for strengthened solidarity in fight against novel coronavirus epidemic
By People’s Daily
International organizations,
governments of various countries, experts, scholars, and media are calling for
scientific approaches, rationality, and cooperation to cope with the current public
health challenge facing mankind.
Highlighting the huge challenge the
coronavirus outbreak is posing, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres said recently that China has made a "very strong and very
impressive response." The huge efforts made by the country will curb the
spread of the virus, he added.
Since the outbreak of the novel
coronavirus pneumonia, or COVID-19, China has strengthened communication with
the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international society in an open,
transparent, and responsible manner.
It has saved valuable time for global
epidemic prevention, built a line of defense to control the spread of the
epidemic, and set a new benchmark for global epidemic prevention.
Recently, representatives of the WHO
and American technology companies held a special meeting on how to prevent the
spread of misinformation about the epidemic on the internet.
WHO representative Andy Pattinson
described the fake information surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak as an
“information epidemic”. At the meeting, the WHO and U.S. technology enterprises
reached an agreement on issues regarding the epidemic, with the latter pledging
to take measures to guide information searching, promoting
reliable information sources and purifying the public opinion
environment for epidemic prevention and control.
“While the virus spreads,
misinformation makes the job of our heroic health workers even harder. It is
diverting the attention of decision makers. And it causes confusion and spreads
fear to the general public. At WHO, we’re not just battling the virus; we’re
also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and
undermine the outbreak response,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus.
The European Union (EU) appreciates
China’s epidemic prevention and control measures, European Commissioner for
Equality Helena Dalli said on a recent plenary session of the European
Parliament held in Strasbourg, France, during which discussion on the COVID-19
was carried out.
Fighting the epidemic is not a task for
China alone, as the epidemic is a challenge facing the whole world. The EU
should strengthen cooperation with China and take its global responsibility, Dalli
said, adding discrimination against Asians or persons perceived as Asians or
any other race or ethnicity is contrary to EU law and the organization will not
tolerate any racial discrimination.
Most of the Members of European
Parliament (MEP) believe that no country could address the challenge of the
epidemic alone.
The EU should promote information
sharing among its member states and share information with China in order to
eliminate social panic caused by fake information, they said, believing that the
recent cases of discrimination in some countries are inhumane and run counter
to the basic values of the EU, and every effort should be made to stop
discrimination.
Rumors always frighten the public who
lack relevant knowledge amid epidemic. Therefore, media and medical experts in
many countries are actively spreading knowledge about the epidemic through
various channels to break down rumors and help them establish correct
understanding.
In The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,
Chinese Malaysian comedian and actor Ronny Chieng staged a talk show to break
down the misinformation and racism surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
He humorously refuted the claim that
drinking bleach, eating garlic, and rinsing nose with saline help prevent the
virus, and asked people to stop calling the virus an Asian virus and
stereotyping Asian people. The show received a warm response from the audience
after it was aired.
Facing the threat of unknown viruses, people
often feel anxious and helpless, and the demand for information has risen
sharply. This has created a market for various rumors and conspiracy theories,
according to Dr. Cheng Huang, an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Global Health at George Washington University.
In addition to objectively and comprehensively
presenting evidence and clarifying facts, authorities also need to reveal why
such ridiculous remarks are made, he pointed out.
“This is a time for facts, not fear.
This is a time for rationality, not rumors. This is a time for solidarity, not
stigma,” Tedros has repeatedly stressed.
The Chinese government has always
maintained close cooperation with the WHO in the fight against the outbreak of
the novel coronavirus, said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO
Health Emergencies Program, at a regular media briefing on Feb. 14. The global
response to the outbreak should be based on facts rather than speculations, he
noted.
At a recent press conference, Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned some Western media for
using false information to vilify China.
At a time when the Chinese people are
facing the unprecedented novel coronavirus pneumonia, writers of many reports were
using disinformation and fraudulent facts, and were showing a lack of respect
and sympathy, she said.
International society calls for strengthened solidarity in fight against novel coronavirus epidemic
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