30 Jan 2020

China attaches high importance to the health and safety of foreigners in the country, including the 21 Botswana students in Wuhan, says the Chinese embassy in Gaborone.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the embassy notes that Batswana, especially the students’ parents, were concerned in light of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

“We fully understand it and would like to take this opportunity to inform you responsibly that the Chinese government attaches high importance to the health and safety of each and every foreigner in China, especially international students, including the 21 Botswana students in Wuhan,” says the release.

China, it says, is committed to strengthening joint prevention and control with African countries so as to strictly prevent coronavirus import.

It says after the outbreak, the China Ministry of Education immediately ordered the launch of emergency response plans and effective prevention measures in universities to ensure the health of foreign students.

“Please rest assured that as long as Botswana students in China actively cooperate with the universities and strictly abide by relevant regulations, their health will not be a problem,” it says.

The release says to win the battle against the epidemic requires concerted efforts of the international community.

It says China is ready to share information on detection, investigation and risk assessment with other countries in a timely manner and unite international medical forces to carry out vaccine research and development.

The release says in response to the infectious situation of the epidemic and the large flow of people during the Spring Festival, the Chinese government has made the prevention and control of novel coronavirus-related pneumonia a national priority. 

“A strict national prevention and control programme has been swiftly put in place. We have made every effort to educate the public nationally on how to prevent the disease,” the release states.

In addition, a national joint prevention and control mechanism led by the National Health Commission composed of 32 governmental departments has been set up to effectively strengthen prevention and control of the epidemic.

At present, the Hubei Provincial Government, where Wuhan is located,  has launched a contingency response programme for major public health emergencies. 

“The local government and medical staff are all working hard to combat the spread of the epidemic and treat the diagnosed patients. 

With full support of the Chinese government and people across the country, seven medical teams from other parts of China have also come to the rescue,” it says.

The release says Wuhan has suspended  bus, subway, ferry, and long-distance passenger transportation operations starting since January 23.

It has also temporarily closed airport and train station departure channels requiring locals not to leave Wuhan without a special reason. 

City authorities have  designated over 5 300 beds in various hospitals to be used for novel coronavirus patients.

“And there will soon be 10 000 hospital beds reserved for infected patients as Chinese authorities take all means necessary to boost the city’s overwhelmed health system,” says the release.

The release says the Chinese government timely released the latest epidemic situation and progress in prevention and control, promptly shared the full genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus with WHO and organised Chinese experts to set up a special team with WHO experts to carry out joint research.

 China has notified and shared epidemic information with WHO and relevant countries as well as China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.

In his meeting with visiting WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country had full confidence and capability to win the battle against the outbreak. 

“Since 2003 when China responded to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), China has set up a relatively complete national emergency system for the prevention and control of novel infectious diseases and accumulated practical experience of public health incidents by coping with SARS, H1N1 influenza, bird flu, and Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Africa,” it states. Ends