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By writer Imdad Hussain
- Editor's note: Imdad Hussain currently works as Senior Producer and reporter at state-run Television based in Islamabad, having experience of more than 20 years in research and media in different organizations including the Ministry of Information, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, and Pakistan Television.*
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic is not the first infectious disease that the world has experienced at this scale. In the last century, the discovery of Ebola pandemic in Congo in 1976, the flu pandemic in 1968, Asian flu pandemic outbreak in 1956, the flu pandemic in 1918 infecting over a third of the world’s population, as well as the sixth cholera pandemic originating in India in 1910 before spreading to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia had killed millions of people. The present coronavirus is the 7th of its kind.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency over the new virus that has killed over 300 people following its outbreak. But it did not propose evacuation of people from the affected cities. So far more than 14,000 coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide, and most of them in Wuhan and nearby cities in China’s Hubei province.
Being its iron brother, Pakistan has stood by China in this difficult hour. According to reports, it has allocated 300,000 medical masks, 800 hazmat suits and 6800 pairs of gloves in aid to China that has arrived there on Saturday afternoon. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has acknowledged Pakistan’s help and support while talking to his Pakistani counterpart, saying it has once again highlighted the deep friendship between the two countries.
On bringing back the Pakistani students studying in China specially in the coronavirus affected areas, the Pakistani government’s policy is loud and clear, which has expressed full confidence in anti-coronavirus measures adopted by the Chinese health authorities. Health Advisor Dr Zafar Mirza has again expressed his firm resolve that the Pakistani students will be repatriated only after they are quarantined for 14 days. Moreover, as a goodwill gesture, the visa of Pakistanis stranded at Urumqi airport has been extended.
The Chinese government has lived up to the task as it takes drastic preventive measures; firstly, it has restricted the movement of people in the affected cities. Secondly, the doctors and experts are vigorously working on developing a vaccine to counter the deadly virus while building two 1,000-bed hospitals in days with one having been handed over to health authorities. Besides, the central bank of China has announced 144 million $ to curb the fast-spreading virus.
The Chinese doctors along with its people have shown real volunteerism to substantiate the efforts towards eradicating coronavirus; an 84-year-old woman donating her life-long savings of 50,000 yuan and a man leaving a number of face masks in a police station are a few to mention.
Now the world media instead of overplaying needs to play an important and responsible role to help curb this pandemic and back the efforts towards defeating this threatening situation. With only two percent reported mortality rate and that too associated with old people having weaker immune systems, the coronavirus is far less fatal than the common flu.
Therefore, the deadly effects of the coronavirus should not be politicized. It is a natural phenomenon that could happen anywhere in the world. We need to be careful and responsible and contribute to the anti-coronavirus efforts following the guidelines of the WHO.
It is good news that Australian scientists of Doherty Institute have discovered an antibody molecular technique for the novel coronavirus and now they are working on developing a vaccine. Hopefully, the Chinese with their unwavering resolve and untiring efforts would be able to defeat this danger earlier than expected.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
