Coronavirus can be prevented, controlled and cured: Chinese Embassy in SA

The Chinese embassy in SA on Friday said that while it understood President Cyril Ramaphosa’s move to evacuate the country’s nationals from China, it was making significant progress in dealing with the deadly coronavirus.

“Taking mainland China as  an example, the number of new confirmed cases a day has dropped from 3,887 on February 4 to 433 on February 26.

“The number of new suspected cases a day has dropped from 5,328 on February 5 to 508 on February 26. On February 25, there were no new confirmed case in 26 provinces. As of February 26, there were only 29 people who died of COVID-19 nationwide comparing with around 100 a few days ago,” the embassy said.

China said it was making strides in not only preventing the spread, but also making progress in curing those who were already infected.

“Since February 20, more than 2,000 people have been cured per day for seven consecutive days. As of February 26, a total of 32,495 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals.

“Facts and figures fully show the virus can be prevented, controlled and cured. We are fully confident that with the understanding and support of the international community, China is sure to win the battle soon,” it said.

More than 2,700 people have died from the virus.

China said only a few foreigners were among the fatalities, and none were South African.

“We are happy to say that up to now, out of millions of foreigners, only 29 of them have been infected in China. Only two of them died of the novel coronavirus. Nine of them are  in hospital for medical treatment, and the rest have been cured and discharged from hospital.

“We are proud to say that up to now, none of more than 3,000 South African students and  other citizens in China have been infected. No confirmed case of COVID-19 infection has been found in SA,” the embassy said.

Despite a shutdown and quarantine being in place, China said, its locals and foreigners continued to study, work and trade though 5G technology.

The country said its factory workers were reporting for duty.

“Now most of China’s factories and industries have resumed production to ensure enough capacity to produce medical and daily supplies for the whole nation and the world. We will continue to provide all necessary assistance and facilitation to all foreign nationals in China. If by chance they become infected, they will get the best medical treatment,” the embassy said.