Since its outbreak in the last week of December 2019, the total fatalities caused by the COVID-19 have passed 53, 200 as of Friday morning. According to a figure by world meters, the number of infected people reached more than a million in almost 200 countries around the globe. As no drugs are confirmed so far and researches are ongoing, especially in the advanced countries, the death toll is likely to go up–even exceeding the horrible predictions made by some research groups and scientists.

Given the trajectory of its spread, the coronavirus pandemic is sure to leave its colossal impacts on human health, economy, global power order, and human civilization as well. Europe is the hotspot of the pandemic while the cases have exponentially increased in the United States. The scribe agrees with Yuval Noah Harari who says, “Humankind is now facing a global crisis. Perhaps the biggest crisis of our generation.”

China that fought ‘alone’ against the COVID-19 since its inception is now almost recovered from the disease and the media reports state that Chinese teams have flocked across the globe with relief packages in the US, Europe, Africa, and the rest of the world. Of course, Nepal has also received Chinese assistance to combat the spread of COVID-19, and the next tranche of support is arriving from China. In the past, during China’s battle against COVID-19, Nepal also provided China with some materials and ‘invaluable support in different ways’. Also, all Nepalis showed their solidarity with the Chinese during their ‘worst days’.

Though the pandemic COVID-19 began to rage in the developed countries, particularly the countries with faster human mobility and robust connectivity, it is a pleasant surprise that Nepal has only six cases so far. With the announcement by the Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday afternoon, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has reached six. The latest case is that of a woman from Baglung district who was returning home from Belgium via Doha by Qatar Airways’s QR 652 aircraft on 17 March. However, critics (and even the doctors) claim that there are more cases of coronavirus in the country but are not reported for many reasons. Against this backdrop, fear looms large and the community feels insecure despite the lockdown.

China's success

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, while adopting the most comprehensive and rigorous prevention and control measures, the Chinese government actually solicited international cooperation for epidemic prevention. Obviously being the first sufferer of COVID-19, China also learned a lot of things—patients’ psychology, socio-economic impacts, the effectiveness of the drugs, and the shortcomings too.

So the Chinese developed mechanisms to fit in their context. Besides trust in their own leadership, Chinese officials strengthened communication and coordination with different countries and the World Health Organization (WHO), which provided the direction to handle international cooperation. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO-China expert team visited China and took stock of China’s intervention against the disease including the prevention and control measures. Side by side, the researchers made massive research works on scientific and technological research into the virus but the whole world is scrambling to reach a conclusion on drug and vaccine against COVID-19. The Chinese also shared many technical documents, including epidemic prevention and control measures, as well as diagnosis and treatment plans, with more than 100 countries around the world and over 10 international and regional organizations.

What lesson can Nepal learn from China? Given our context and porous border with India, at present effective implementation of the lockdown is and should be the key priority. Lockdown order is not duly implemented. Likewise, accountability on the part of the leadership, health sector, and administration is the next challenge. Complaints against the political leadership, administrative leadership, and the health institutions run by the private sector are legion. So, the governance part should be immediately mended.

Image credit: AN Ming/EPA

Actions should be taken against the hospitals that are denying treatment to patients under different pretexts. And safety measures and logistics including the personal protective equipment (PPE) to the health workers and even the ambulance drivers should be provided. Some companies have already announced to develop PPE. Import facilitation of such emergency commodities should also be taken into account. At the same time, the paucity of necessary laboratory instruments is also a major gap for the confirmation of the cases, where government intervention is utmost.

From Chinese experiences and the ongoing efforts to contain the pandemic COVID-19, a centralized and concerted effort is a must. Transparency in government operations in the fight against the disease is essential. Likewise, availability of the logistics to the doctors and health workers and others on the frontline; information sharing; social distancing on the part of people; streamlining international assistance and ensuring the daily essentials to the people living under lockdown are the key points that we should apply. And, here lies the Chinese lesson, which helped the Chinese nationals and leadership to announce their victory against the pandemic COVID-19.

The original article can be found at http://english.lokaantar.com/articles/lessons-chinese-experiences-containing-covid-19/