Tourists wearing masks are seen in Venice, Italy, on February 23, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

The declining numbers of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in China and consecutively increasing numbers globally have drawn international attention with some experts praising China's measures and suggesting more countries should take effective measures while others question whether international organizations, including the WHO, have overreacted to the epidemic.

Many scholars and diplomats globally have praised China's quick reaction in preventing the virus and expressed their appreciation for sacrifices made by people in China.

"So far, the Chinese government has done its best to deal with the virus," Ambassador Kham-Inh Kitchadeth, Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to the UN office, WTO and other international organizations in Geneva and Embassy of the Lao PDR to the Swiss Confederation, told the Global Times.

Like MERS, SARS and other viruses, COVID-19 is not an issue only for China but one for the whole world. Every country needs to unite to solve the problem. Every country in the world should help each other, the ambassador said.

China has taken "actual and effective" measures to prevent the virus from going global, otherwise more people may be infected, Jamshed Khamidov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Tajikistan's Permanent Representative to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva, told the Global Times.

"I think it is the right time for the whole world to make joint efforts not only in dealing with the epidemic but also in other fields, including anti-terrorism," he said.

Joseph from an Egyptian NGO told the Global Times that he thinks the Chinese government has done what it can and helped win some time for the whole world in dealing with the new disease. "People in Egypt are standing with the Chinese with all our heart and soul."

Predrag J. Markovic, a professor from the Institute for Contemporary History in Serbia who came to attend a side event at the UN office in Geneva, said that he was impressed by the Chinese government's capability in mobilizing the whole country to deal with the virus.

"We were all impressed by how the Chinese finished building shelter hospitals within a short period. It's unimaginable what the situation would be if the virus had broken out in other countries. The whole world should be grateful to China," he told the Global Times.

Not too worried

According to a press release from WHO on March 2, outside China, a total of 8,739 cases of COVID-19 have been reported to WHO from 61 countries, with 127 deaths. Epidemics in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan had raised the greatest concern.

Although WHO has not announced the COVID-19 as a "pandemic," it mentioned in the release that "containment of COVID-19 is feasible and must remain the top priority for all countries."

Side-events scheduled during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council reportedly have been cancelled starting from Tuesday until the end of the session to avoid large gatherings.

People from different countries have a variety of opinions on how to deal with the epidemic.

"Our government has paid very close attention to the epidemic. The government has put students coming back from China in a special place for 14-day quarantine. Fortunately, they are all in good health and live with their families," Ambassador Jamshed Khamidov said.

The ambassador of Tajikistan said that his country has also strengthened border control considering the increasing number of confirmed cases in Iran and other neighboring countries. Many people living in cities are wearing masks for prevention.

Compared with developed countries, developing countries' medical systems are underdeveloped and comparatively vulnerable. "But what we are facing now is a totally new virus, it is a challenge even for developed countries, many of which are ill-prepared. The threat is equal to developing and developed countries," he said.

"It is good if people take some preventive measures. But the issue is that you cannot require citizens to wear masks in many countries," he said, noting that some residents in European countries also think the situation is not as bad as the media or government has reported.

The Global Times reporter saw few people in Geneva wearing masks in public places. Staff at many pharmacies believe that there is no need to worry too much as confirmed COVID-19 cases in Switzerland have been isolated.

Franches, an Italian who works in Switzerland, said she is not worried about the virus despite the severe situation in Italy.

"People who died from the virus in Italy are old people who already had many ailments. I believe in my own immune system," she told the Global Times. She also said that the media has exaggerated the situation of the virus which has caused social panic.

A young man, named Brook who is from Ethiopia and works in Switzerland, told the Global Times that compared to developed countries, which have complete medical systems, some developing countries are more cautious as once the novel coronavirus spreads there, it may be hard to control considering the virus could be spread by human-to-human transmission.

Brook said that many residents living in European countries seem not so anxious about the increasing numbers of confirmed cases in the region since they always think the virus is far away from them and they also have confidence in their own medical systems.

In response to some netizens' remarks on more countries should copy China's prevention measures, some experts said that faced with the sudden outbreak of the epidemic and a huge population mobility in the spring festival holidays, China's quick response and following measures were effective in stopping the spread of the virus. But there is no one solution for all.

A Swiss scholar based in Geneva who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times that regardless of differences between developing countries and developed countries, every government considers their measures in dealing with the virus based on their country's conditions, including medical resources and reactions from the public, as well as suggestions offered by the WHO.