The Ambassador of China to Qatar, Zhou Jian, has said that Qatar will send today assistance to China including masks and gloves among other medical supplies to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“China and Qatar are good friends and brothers. Facing the novel coronavirus, our Qatari friends stepped forward and expressed their confidence in China for defeating the epidemic and offered all necessary assistance.
Actions of our Qatari brothers made us feel touched and further strengthened our confidence to win this battle. We highly appreciate the support from Qatar and believe that this will surely write another glorious story in the history of China-Qatar relations,” said the Ambassador.
He also said, during a press conference held yesterday at his residency, that after pneumonia broke out, the Chinese Embassy informed the Qatari Government of the latest situation and the measures taken by the Chinese government and maintained close communication and information sharing with the Qatari counterparts.
“The Qatari government has also taken timely and effective measures to prevent the epidemic, which has provided a solid guarantee for the health and safety of the Qatari people.”
The Ambassador added that since the outbreak, Chinese citizens and companies in Qatar have paid close attention to the situation back home, and are concerned about the health and life of people in China.
“They offered their own support to the motherland. Many Chinese companies here and Chinese citizens have voluntarily donated medical supplies to China, such as masks. I would also like to thank Qatar Airways for making special arrangements and opened up a green channel for the transportation of these supplies.”
“In the next stage, the Chinese government and the Chinese Embassy will continue to maintain close communication with the Qatari side, report the latest situation timely, share the results of scientific research and treatment, as well as our experience in the prevention and control the infections. We will work together in epidemic prevention and control, so as to safeguard the health and safety of our two peoples,” he added.
Regarding measures taken by the Chinese government to prevent the disease, he pointed out that after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Chinese government attached great importance and quickly mobilised nationwide forces to fight against the epidemic.
“The outbreak came just before the Chinese New Year. Facing the situation, President Xi Jinping and government officials at all levels cancelled their holidays and rushed to the front line.
On the first day of the Chinese New Year, he held a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CPC Political Bureau, listened to the work report, and re-examined, deployed and mobilised the prevention, control and treatment works,” said the Ambassador.
Among other measures taken by the government, the Ambassador said: “At present, we have built an all-round and multi-layered prevention and control system focusing on Wuhan and Hubei, including all levels of governments. All relevant works are open and transparent and are undergoing scientifically and orderly. Up till January 31, the National Health Commission has registered a total of 11,791 confirmed cases from 31 provinces, 1795 serious cases, 259 cases of deaths, and 243 cases of cured patients. There were 17,988 suspected cases in all.”
“Also around 6,000 medical staff in 29 provinces and cities put down their chopsticks for the New Year dinner, gave up the opportunity to reunite with their families, and flew in an emergency flight to Wuhan overnight. The Huoshenshan Hospital, an emergency specialised hospital completed within just 6 days,” he added.
Jian pointed out that the hospital covers an area of 25,000 square meters and can accommodate 1,000 beds. “Hundreds of equipment was sent to the construction site. 1,500 workers and 280 sets of machinery are racing against time and disease. Also within 8 days, another same hospital, the Lenshenshan Temporary Hospital will finish construction, with an additional 1,600 beds for patients of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.” He said that the two hospitals will begin operational by February 3 and 6 respectively. “In addition, the Chinese government has decided to send charter flights to take stranded citizens overseas back home, especially those from Hubei, Wuhan. These fully reflect the Chinese government’s responsibility in solving problems for the people,” the Ambassador said. He further said: “We could say that our works have been very effective. As of January 31, there were more than 10,000 confirmed cases worldwide, no more than one hundred of them, or 1% spread outside China. No deaths cases were found abroad. This fully proves that the Chinese government has contained the situation inside China, and prevented it from a large-scale spread. In the next step, the Chinese government will continue to fulfill its obligations, responding to the concerns of foreign citizens in China, including Qatari citizens, and ensure their safety in a responsible manner.”
“In the next step, China will to continue to work closely with WHO and other countries for preventing and controlling the epidemic, jointly safeguarding public health security,” the Ambassador said.