The novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire humankind to an unprecedented standstill. Officially known as SARS-CoV-2, the fatal virus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and is currently wreaking havoc in countries across the globe.
China is often blamed for concealing necessary information about the novel coronavirus from the rest of the world. This is mainly because during the initial stage of the outbreak, it told the World Health Organisation (WHO) that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted through humans.
Another reason why several countries look at China with suspicion is that it managed to alter the dangerous course of the virus and recorded a sizable drop in the number of COVID-19 positive cases within a couple of months while other nations are still figuring out ways to fight the pandemic.
Ji Rong, Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, opened up about the accusations and also shared the strategy undertaken by China to fight the novel coronavirus.
Did China mislead the world on COVID-19 situation?
Refuting the blames put on China by media houses from the world over, Ji Rong said that the Chinese Government always maintained an open and transparent attitude on sharing epidemic information.
"The coronavirus is a novel virus unseen in the past, therefore, its detection, research, testing, and confirmation naturally requires time," said Rong.
Admitting that the first-ever case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, Rong stated that there is still no clarity about the exact origin of the SARS-CoV-2.
"China's position has been consistent that the origin of the virus requires scientific, fact-based and professional assessment made by experts," added Rong.
How China is fighting its way back to normalcy?
Speaking of China's response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Rong said that the country adopted comprehensive, thorough and rigorous measures at the earliest time possible, which proved to be highly effective and prevented hundreds of thousands of infections.
Rong also narrated China's COVID-19 timeline to give an idea of the country's quick response time. Here's what he told:
- On December 27, 2019, the first three suspected cases were reported in Hubei province.
- On December 29, an epidemiological investigation was carried out by the medical authorities in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.
- On December 30, Wuhan Municipal Health Committee issued an "urgent notice on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause".
- On December 31, an expert group from the National Health Commission went to Wuhan to investigate on-site.
- On January 3, 2020, China started to update the WHO and other countries about the situation.
- On January 11, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention uploaded five whole genome sequences of the novel coronavirus on its website.
- On January 23, Wuhan was locked down.
Rong further stated that China stands ready to extend international cooperation in fighting the pandemic and sharing its experience with other countries.
"We should join hands and work together to defeat the virus as soon as possible and safeguard regional and global public health security," said Rong.
However, several doctors and medical experts have warned that there could be a second wave of COVID-19 in China in the coming months.
