Senior WHO official praises China’s phenomenal collective action in combating coronavirus
By
Zhang Penghui, People’s Daily
The team lead for the WHO-China joint
mission on novel coronavirus Bruce Aylward on Tuesday praised China’s agile disease
containment effort at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, saying this
has not only largely reduced the new infections in the country, but also earned
valuable time and offered experiences for other countries to get prepared.
Aylward introduced the mission’s trip
to China, shared China’s experiences in combating the virus, and made
suggestions on global epidemic control.
The WHO-China joint mission on novel
coronavirus consists of 25 Chinese and foreign experts who went for field investigations
to Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hubei during their 9-day stay in China. They
conducted comprehensive and in-depth investigation into the epidemic
situations, control measures, treatment, community-level prevention and
scientific research in the country and relevant provinces, and submitted a
report to the Chinese government and WHO.
Aylward said China has made remarkable
achievements in combating the virus, with a sharp drop in the number of new
cases of infection and patients in severe and critical conditions, which may
have saved hundreds of thousands of people from infection.
According to the general law of
epidemiology, said the WHO official, pointing to graphics of the epidemic
statistics in China, there is always a rapid growth of cases after the outbreak
of epidemics such as the novel coronavirus pneumonia. However, experts believe
that China’s intervention has obviously changed the curves on the graphics. Every
difference and every line represents a powerful decision by policymakers and
tremendous efforts benefiting a large number of Chinese people, he said.
At the press conference, Aylward shared
China’s effective approaches to contain the epidemic, in particular its
mobilization and science-based measures. He believes that China’s strong
mobilization and execution, as well as its people’s devotion and optimism have
strongly facilitated the implementation of control measures.
"They are using big data,
artificial intelligence (AI) in places," Aylward said, adding that the
country has also established fever clinics and online diagnosis systems.
Besides, QR code has also been used as passes that indicate citizens’ health
conditions.
Sharing what he saw in China, Aylward
introduced that some Chinese medical staff working on the frontline even
dropped off in the meetings with the joint mission because of the exhausting
work. He was also impressed by the medical teams across the country that
entered Hubei for assistance taking personal protective equipment and medical
devices, with some hospitals even being taken over, which is unimaginable in
other countries.
He used “ghost town” to describe Wuhan
as citizens stayed at home to contain the spread of the virus. “But behind
every window in every skyscraper there are people co-operating with this
response,” Aylward said, adding that China has demonstrated phenomenal
collective action and cooperation spirit.
Every person has a sense that they're
mobilized like in a war against the virus and they are organized, he said.
According to a data model offered by
WHO’s partner experts, the measures taken by China to contain the flow of the
people have slowed the spread the virus by 2 to 3 days in China, and 2 to 3
weeks in other parts of the world.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia is
affecting many places around the world, and rapid response is called for to
prevent the disease from becoming a pandemic, Aylward said, adding that China’s
prevention and control proved that the epidemic is controllable with strict
measures.
Aylward suggested that countries evaluate
potential risks based on scientific approaches, prepare hospital beds,
quarantine facilities, ICUs and test labs in advance, and conduct training for
personnel for quick response. Besides, he also urged countries to pay attention
to the spread of information and enhance communication with China for
experiences, and called for cooperation from the public.
Senior WHO official praises China’s phenomenal collective action in combating coronavirus
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