NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 17, 2020 / China lifted the lockdown of Wuhan on the 1st of April. The city, to an extent, is a testament to China's efforts to combat the novel COVID-19.
China was the first country to take an aggressive approach to impose the strictest and comprehensive measures to prevent and control the epidemic. China was also the first country to make good progress in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and to share its experience of fighting the epidemic with other countries without any reservation. China offers assistance to more than 120 countries and four international organizations, including the United Kingdom. China's effort to combat the epidemic has led to the Wuhan lifted its lockdown early this month.
Chinese people have given up their daily lives.
Wuhan was locked down in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, tens of millions of people chose to self-isolating, which is a bold move in the history of New China, and it is China's first line of defense to prevent the spread of the epidemic to its neighboring countries.
Since 11th of Feburary all residential areas in Wuhan have adopted a closed-end management approach. A massive diagnostic treatment, prevention and control were put in place and all the relevant information was being released and updated in a timely manner to the public. More than 40,000 medical personnel have been dispatched from all over the country to support Hubei. Additional fiscal resources have been granted to support the fight against the epidemic. Medical and living materials were quickly deployed to ensure no shortage in supply. Two hospitals, Huoshenshan and Leishenshan, were built in just over 10 days, and several makeshift hospitals were opened to cope with the emergency situation.
China's efforts translated into some meaning outcomes. The joint expert review group indicated the epidemiological curve has shown that such measures directly lead to a gradual decline or remain at a lower level.
Director-general of the WHO Tan Desai said that 99% of the confirmed cases are in China, and 97% of deaths are in Hubei province. This has created a valuable window period for the international community to work together to solve the epidemic. It has also set a new standard for the world's epidemic prevention.
China's decisive and unprecedented measures will inevitably have huge negative impact to the economy and society. Transportation, tourist, entertainment, schools, retailing are all basically stalled. The "Spring-Festival-Economy" as well as other economic activities are on the blink.
What China-Model actually means in the Pandemic prevention?
António Gutterres, the UN Secretary General, during a visit to WHO headquarters in Geneva, said that many Chinese were unable to have normal lives in order to effectively prevent and control the novel pneumonia outbreak. He would like to express his gratitude to all those who are living in China now, and those who are unable to have normal lives. He thinks the Chinese people have made great sacrifices to prevent and control the epidemic. His comments simply reflect the central government in China is willing to sacrifice a short period of sharp economic downturn in return for the health and safety of its citizens and the rest of the world.
While fighting its own epidemic, China has always kept the WHO and the international community informed timely, shared information and carried out international cooperation in an open, transparent and responsible manner.
Does China care about the transparency and her neighborhood?
China maintains high transparency in dealing with information related to the outbreak. WHO announced that it had received information on the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus shared by China. China has held a number of teleconferences or video-conferences with experts on the epidemic from the European Union, ASEAN, African countries and South Korea. The National Health Commission and the WHO jointly held an international briefing on sharing China's experience in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. According to MA Xiaowei, Director of the National Health Commission China's prevention and control strategies, methods and technologies, have been proved in the field and are ready to share with the international community to help maintain global health security.
China has taken further steps in global epidemic prevents. A 13-member expert team and 17.3 metric tons of medical supplies were off to Milan in Mid March as part of a series of supportive moves to help European countries combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. In addition to Italy, China also has provided medical devices used to diagnose, prevent and treat COVID-19, such as diagnostic tests, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE) - including masks, face shields, respirators, gowns, and gloves to South Korea, Japan and many other European countries.
The Trade-Off - containing the disease and sustaining the economy
Disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has raised a key concern on China's role along the global supply chain given China is deeply embedded. On one hand China's own economy will get hurt by her decisive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand nationwide confirmed cases was peaked and leveled off in late February. China's labor force and production lines have resumed their duties and operation. The impact to the supply of medical devices globally is even more obvious as China is the largest exporter whilst many countries like the U.S. are experiencing a severe shortage during this period of time. One can imagine the situation if China's shipment has stopped.
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SOURCE: Global News Online