Photo: Screenshot of WHO press conference on Jan 23

China has been taking the strictest ever measures in battling the novel coronavirus outbreak, and such efforts are effectively curbing the spread of the disease to other parts of the world, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

Hua made the remarks during an online press conference on Tuesday, when commenting on inquiries concerning the reports in which World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on all countries to invest in preparedness, not panic to manage the epidemic, in his address to the 146th session of the WHO Executive Board meeting.

WHO has recommended that there is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade, and all countries must support countries with weaker health systems, as well as accelerate the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

WHO also said that the world should combat the spread of rumors and misinformation, review preparedness plans, identify gaps and evaluate the resources needed to identify, isolate and care for cases, and prevent transmission.

Hua cited an epidemic report released by the WHO on Monday that said there were 153 confirmed cases of the virus infection in other countries, less than 1 percent of the total in China, and she mentioned that the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, which was first discovered in the US, had spread to 214 countries and regions in the world. 

"It is the efforts made by the Chinese side that effectively prevented the epidemic spreading to other countries," she noted.

The death rate from the 2009 H1N1 flu that first broke out in the US was 17.4 percent, and the 2012 MERS death rate was 34.4 percent, while the number for Ebola was 40.4 percent.

In fact, the death rate for this round of novel coronavirus is around 2.1 percent in China, much lower than other epidemics, and since Saturday, we have seen more people recovering from the disease than dying from it, according to the spokesperson. 

WHO's main goal behind its classifying the epidemic outbreak as a global emergency is to provide necessary international aid to those nations with weak public health systems and poor medical capabilities. It stands against any travel ban against China and repeatedly praised China's effective control measures, Hua said.

However, Hua pointed out that there are some developed nations that have strong and advanced epidemic control capability and appliances that have taken excessive restriction measures against China ahead of others, which went opposite to WHO recommendations. 

Losing humanity in the battle against the epidemic would lead to much more losses, Hua warned. 

The spokesperson continued to stress that the epidemic is temporary while cooperation is long-lasting. In the face of the public health crisis, countries should work together to overcome difficulties, which is in the common interests of all countries.

Global Times