Chinese Ambassador to Doha: Corona virus panic is greater than the impact of the epidemic

Imad Murad - Doha

The Chinese ambassador to Doha, Zhou Jian, described the current state of panic in the Coruna virus as greater than the impact of the epidemic itself.

He explained that the Coruna virus can be prevented and controlled thanks to the strong measures and measures taken by the Chinese government.

In a press conference held this evening in the capital, Doha, Jian added that the Chinese government will continue to fulfill its international obligations, make every effort to ensure the health of foreigners in China, and address the legitimate concerns of all parties.

He pointed out that his country has scientific and technological foundations built over seventy years, and a rich experience in dealing with major public health events such as SARS, bird flu and H1N1 influenza, stressing that the Chinese government is confident of winning the battle against this virus.

He stressed that the Chinese government attaches great importance to fighting Corona since its outbreak coinciding with the Chinese New Year.

He added that all Chinese government officials canceled their leave and worked to hold intensive meetings that led to preventive measures, by forming a leading epidemic response group to coordinate all national efforts in a comprehensive and scientific way for the battle against the epidemic.

Corona and Global Trade
The Chinese ambassador notes that the talk about the influence of corona on Chinese trade contrasts with the science that shows specific and known ways of transmitting the virus, calling on countries to have their positions consistent with the statement of the World Health Organization, which confirmed China's ability to control the disease.

The Chinese ambassador to Doha talked about many measures that his country has taken since the emergence of Corona, including building a number of hospitals in a very short period, some of which began work and others will be opened before the sixth of February to meet the cases infected with the virus.

Wuhan, a city with a population of 14 million, has been completely isolated, as well as strong medical measures taken across China, he added.

The Chinese ambassador considered that his country dealt with the crisis with great transparency and revealed all information based on the Chinese law, which authorizes clarification of matters and punishes any attempt to hide or distort the epidemic situation.

He noted that as of January 31, the National Health Commission had registered a total of 11,791 confirmed cases from 31 provinces, 1795 serious cases, 259 deaths, and 243 cases of treated patients, while there were 17,988 suspected cases.

He added that the Corona virus showed the world the speed and efficiency of China in dealing with the epidemic by deploying 6 thousand medical workers to 29 provinces in the country in record time, as well as permanent coordination between all sides, stressing that the Chinese people stand together in efforts Fighting the epidemic.

He added that his country had identified the causes of the disease in a very short time and shared its information with the World Health Organization and some other countries, and bid farewell to the World Health Organization for a field visit to Wuhan.

He added that the measures applied by China are difficult for any country in the world to implement, given that the size of infections in the whole world with the Corona virus does not exceed 1% of the infections in China.

He said that the measures taken by his country prevented the epidemic from spreading significantly in the world, considering that the Chinese government will continue to fulfill its obligations towards citizens and foreigners in the country and ensure their safety, calling on the international community to show courage and take scientific measures to enhance cooperation and overcome difficulties together to achieve regional and global health security .

Country aid
On the cooperation between China and Qatar to prevent and control the epidemic, the Chinese ambassador revealed Qatar's intention to send medical aid to China immediately.

He added that the Chinese embassy in Doha has identified the needs of the country in the current period, and the Qatari government is currently providing them from the relevant authorities, and tomorrow, the first aid flights will start on Qatar Airways.

In a question to Al-Jazeera Net about Qatar Airways' suspension of its flights to China from Monday, the Chinese ambassador expressed his country's understanding of the measures taken by Qatar Airways, noting that Qatar Airways said in its statement that this measure does not target China, but some countries imposed reservations on the Chinese On her entry, this resulted in two people stuck at Hamad International Airport, forcing her to take this action.

He revealed that cargo cargo flights between the two countries continue normally, as well as suspending flights to China for one week, after which the situation will be evaluated again.

Qatar Airways decided today, Saturday, to suspend its flights to China, provided that the decision will be applied from Monday to another notice, adding that the decision was taken "due to the major operational challenges that coincided with the imposition of restrictions on the entry of all travelers who visited China during the past weeks of Before many countries. "

The Qatar Airways indicated that it will conduct a continuous review of operations on a weekly basis to assess the situation. Once these restrictions are lifted, it will begin its flights again to China.