The epidemic through the eyes of a foreign student

BEIJING: I am living in China since September 2018. The purpose of writing this article is to reduce panic in people who are currently in China. Many foreigners are in great stress and some are creati

BEIJING: I am living in China since September 2018. The purpose of writing this article is to reduce panic in people who are currently in China. Many foreigners are in great stress and some are creating panic, plus their families are also really worried about the safety of their children so, I felt to write the steps which China is taking for the safety of not only for Chinese, but also for foreigners.

Being a foreigner there are many things I really like about the Chinese government to deal with this toughest situation. I strongly believe no other nation has this ability to deal with this issue like China is dealing. I trust in Chinese Government that they will overcome this issue very soon that is the reason I did not leave China although I had a great pressure from my friends and family to leave. I feel safer here than anywhere else plus I want to follow the instructions of the Chinese government to not travel to prevent this disease.

One more reason to write this article is to let foreigners know that China government and administration really care about the people, they are doing their best to save you no matter you are not Chinese, they have no discrimination. You just need to trust them and just cooperate with them, that’s it. And just follow instructions.

I have noticed that Chinese people are not behaving in a panicked manner there are two most important reasons for this, one they already had fought the same battle in 2003 when there was SARS in China. And at that time, this nation bravely fought and defeated that virus. So, this is not a new situation for them. The second most important reason is the trust level of the Chinese people on their government and administrations.

A few days back I saw some posts on the WeChat moments from some of my foreigners’ friend like CHINA STAY STRONG and I started thinking that is this something that China needs? I mean emotional support? The majority will say yes, but I really think no. They are a very strong nation.

MEASURES AT GOVERNMENT LEVEL:

Since the day this problem has started, high level research labs formulated with the Eminent Chinese and foreigner Researchers to discover the virus, symptoms, sources, causes and preventions, as this was a new virus so no prior information was available.
The outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus has posed a serious threat to people’s health. However, the prevention and control of such a sudden outbreak require more scientific knowledge and the participation of the public, so that the disease can be defeated and the epidemic can be controlled. To clear the doubts about the virus, misconception, prevention, reduce the risk of transmission and for the better understanding about the issue, A Handbook of 2019-nCoV pneumonia Control and prevention has been issued timely.
All the research and information regarding this virus has been shared publically time to time by the Chinese government. World Health Organisation (WHO) is informed and is consulted at the same time.
The public is being instructed to do precautionary measures. And basic information is being communicated with masses timely and effectively.
From 23 January, Wuhan city has been locked down completely and all the transportation services has been suspended to stop the virus spreading into the other regions.
As this is the time of the spring festival, already a huge number of people had been travelled to their homes for celebrations. So after this transportation within the Wuhan city also has suspended to reduce people to people interaction.
After these steps which are being taken in Wuhan, some other cities which were getting effected has also suspended their transportation services.

All New Year events have been cancelled.
Till 24th January, 7 major cities of China has imposed health emergency, and the bus services from one city to other cities has been suspended.
Furthermore, the special counter has been established on the railway stations and airports for the temperature checking of passengers, and in case anyone has temperature they were moved to hospitals for treatment immediately.
One more good step has been taken by the local government that if someone found a suspect and he has travelled from one place to another place, immediately the travelling information of that suspect has been communicated so that the people who have travelled with him can check them up to be on the safe side.
One more important thing is that every information was being shared with the public. Public service messages with the basic information like how to prevent from virus, or if get infected what patient is supposed to do etc. are still being shared.
Communist Party of China called an emergency meeting and formulate a Committee to monitor the situation and practical steps closely.
Immediately extend the holidays and schools, colleges and universities instructed the students to not come back till the next notice.
Free temperature checkup facility is made available by the government in universities, hostels, shopping malls. Infected of suspected people are receiving treatment free of charge.
The best and impressive thing is that the China government first announced the construction of new hospital in 6 days but later after considering the quantity of patients government has announced construction of 2 hospitals in 10 days with 1300 beds, one hospital will be inaugurated on February 2, and another on 5th February for the treatment of infected coronavirus patients, the construction continues 24/7.
In a two days medical laboratories has been established where daily 2000 samples can be test, while one sample takes at least 6 hours to be tested.
Due to the insufficient space in hospital and to avoid crowd there online test service is available.
Except this one board of senior scientists including Eminent Chinese and foreigners experts, has been established who are working on the research. To help fight the outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus and they have made some progress as well.
Workers of the many medical material companies rushed to work ahead of schedule to make protective clothing, masks and other protective equipment to guarantee the supplies.
Doctors and other staff are volunteering themselves.

CHINESE NATION’S REACTION:

These were the steps or measures which has been taken at the administration level but what impressed me the most was the behaviour of the general public. Everyone is so calm they have a high level of trust on their government plus they all are following the instructions of government without any objection and second thought. When there was a shortage of masks, manufacturer companies has started their work 24/7 hours and suspend their holidays to help the nation happily. Ali Baba has started to distribute free masks. Till Saturday evening, the Chinese nation has donated approximately 20 million USD dollars to their Government to help fight against this disease and 18 lacs safety suits has been provided in Wuhan institutes. Nobody was sharing anything negative on their WeChat or other social sites to avoid panic. Infect if you will see their WeChat and other social accounts they are sharing their normal life posts there. The Chinese nation is behaving rationally and bravely.

UNIVERSITY ARRANGEMENT:

In all universities their administration is continuously in touch with their students, they have created special WeChat groups to collect their data and keep track record that how many students are currently on the campuses. All students are under strong observation. They are checking their temperature on daily bases and all the students are instructed to stay in touch with their supervisors. In case of any issue or problem or illness, students are instructed to contact any one of them for immediate help and treatment. Even supervisors are asking their students again and again about their health like they are their own children. Strong security check on the entrance to make sure that students inside the campuses are safe from infected people and if they find someone like the suspect they are isolating them for the treatment. On 27th January, my university has issued a notice that as per the instruction of The Party Central Committee and the requirements of the Ministry of Education And Beijing Municipality students and teacher’s safety is first. And students are instructed to cooperate with them.

WHO CHIEF CONFIDENT IN CHINA’S EPIDEMIC PREVENTION AND CONTROL ABILITY:

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks at a press conference after the WHO emergency committee’s meeting on the novel coronavirus in China at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2020.

Tedros said the WHO does not recommend the evacuation of nationals and called on the international community to remain calm and not overreact. The WHO is confident in China’s epidemic prevention and control ability.

PROGRESS IN TREATMENT:

Jan. 29, 2020. The patient, who was the first diagnosed novel coronavirus case in Guizhou, got cured and discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
Jan. 28, 2020. Three Medical workers diagnosed with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia are cured and discharged from the hospital in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province.
BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese researchers have found three existing drugs with fairly good inhibitory effects on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) at the cellular level, a local newspaper has reported. The three drugs are Remdesivir, Chloroquine and Ritonavir. They are now under relevant procedures to gain approval for clinical use, said Hubei Daily on Wednesday.