Chinese ambassador thanks SA for help in fighting coronavirus so far

The Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, addressed a media conference on Monday morning to make his country’s position on the outbreak of coronavirus clear.

At least 35 South Africans are still trapped in Wuhan where the virus first broke out.

Lin was largely defensive of China’s response and challenged the West, particularly the USA, to be able to do better in the same situation. He did, however, express gratitude to South Africans and South African companies who had made donations, including face masks, to China to help with the crisis.

He called the outbreak a “global battle between humanity and nature that required the concerted efforts of the international community to win it over”.

He confirmed that as of midnight on February 2 (last night), a total of 17,205 confirmed cases and 21,558 suspected cases of new coronavirus and 361 deaths had been reported.

He said 475 patients had been cured and left hospitals to go back home.

Globally, there were 146 confirmed cases, including 20 in Japan, 19 in Thailand, 18 in Singapore, 15 in the ROK, 12 in Australia, 8 each in Malaysia, United States and Germany, 7 in Vietnam, 6 in France, 5 in UAE, 4 in Canada, 2 each in Italy, the UK, Russia, the Philippines and India, 1 each in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Finland, Spain and Sweden.

“No confirmed case has ever been reported in Africa to date,” said Lin

He said that what remained challenging was that the source of the infection from the novel coronavirus in Wuhan had not been discovered, the nature of the new virus was unknown, and the risks of mutation were still unclear.

“But the virus ability to spread is growing.”

He lauded the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for isolating the virus and working to identify a seed strain.

Ambassador of China in South Africa, his excellency Lin Songtian, can be seen thanking the U-Mask medical face mask manufacturer for their donation of masks to china in an attempt to fight the spreading coronavirus, 2 February 2020, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles

“Chinese scientists are racing against time to develop vaccines against the virus. The detection devices and reagents have been developed in China and applied nationally. An early application of the vaccine is expected to be soon available in China and the rest of the world.”

Lin added that fighting the outbreak was the top priority and primary task of the Chinese ruling party and the government, and $10 billion had been allocated to the task as an emergency allocation.

“First, a national joint prevention and control system and program has been swiftly put in place and has been working very effectively.

“Second, massive and effective efforts at all levels of Chinese government and society have been made to prevent and control the spread of the epidemic.

“The national quarantine campaign has been launched.”

All provinces, cities, communities and villages in China had kicked off the highest-level contingency response systems and programme for public health emergencies to prevent the spread of the virus. Some villages and communities even locked themselves down. 

Lin said China was paying a heavy price to protect themselves and the rest of the world.

“Third, national medical staff and resources have been mobilised and deployed to Wuhan to offer all needed support.”

The ambassador said his country was known for standing together in times of crisis.

“We are fighting day and night. More medical personnel nationwide are on standby to assist anytime. More than 100 local hotels in Wuhan open their doors free of charge for the medical personnel, visitors and foreigners.

“Peoples from the world including the people in China and overseas Chinese communities and foreign friends such as the South African government and the SA U-Mask manufacturer Universal Safety Products have been extending their helpful hands timely by donating in kind and cash, including fresh vegetables to Wuhan. What they donated to Wuhan and China [includes] solidarity, strength and confidence.”

He added that, fourthly, the Chinese had shown openness, transparency and a high degree of responsibility for global health security by releasing the latest epidemic situations and progress in prevention and control.

(Edited by Charles Cilliers)

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