After taking global criticism on them China finally voiced that it has neither created the Coronavirus nor intentionally transmitted it and that usage of terms like “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” is wrong. WHO has emphasized that the linking China and Wuhan with the Coronavirus should stop immediately as it is not created by their country. Those people who are trying to stigmatize China’s efforts have ignored the huge sacrifices the Chinese people made in safeguarding the health and safety of all mankind. Eventually the truth will come out from China and will startle the World. It will take time since it’s a closed nation. India and China both making efforts to fight the disease, both countries have maintained communication and have lent support to each other in coping with the pandemic through difficult times. Earlier this month, China had condemned US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for branding the COVID-19 as “Wuhan virus”, terming his remarks as “despicable behavior” and an attempt to stigmatize the country. There is a clear consensus by the World Health Organization (WHO) that a virus should not be linked to any specific country, region or ethnic group and such stigmatization should be rejected. Instances have been reported in some countries including India and the US where numbers of people, especially of Chinese origin, have been harassed and have even faced racially-motivated attacks amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the seasonal flu starting from September 2019 has so far sickened more than 30 million people and killed more than 20,000, and CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield admitted some were actually COVID-19 (cases).Since January 3, China has been regularly notifying WHO and relevant countries and regions about the outbreak, and on January 12, it had already shared with WHO the genetic sequence of the novel Coronavirus. Recently, China’s National Health Commission reported 78 new confirmed cases of Coronavirus, including 74 imported infections, while the death count from the novel Coronavirus increased to 3,277 after seven more fatalities. Some of the virus types cause less serious disease, while others – like the one that caused Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) – are far more severe.
Chania may say anything in their damage control statements but the reality is that COVID-19, the outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. As of 26 March, more than 471,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in more than 190 countries and territories, resulting in more than 21,200 deaths and more than 114,000 recoveries. The virus is typically spread during close contact and via respiratory droplets produced when people cough or sneeze. All those countries affected by COVID 19, are making efforts to prevent the virus spreading include travel restrictions, quarantines, curfews, event postponements and cancellations, and facility closures. These include the first (and arguably successful) quarantine of Hubei, curfew measures elsewhere in China and South Korea, national or regional quarantines in many countries throughout the world, various border closures or incoming passenger restrictions, screening at airports and train stations, and outgoing passenger travel bans. Schools and universities have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in more than 124 countries, affecting more than 1.2 billion students. The globe has stalled and there is fear everywhere. The pandemic has led to severe global socioeconomic disruption, the postponement or cancellation of sporting, religious, and cultural events and widespread fears of supply shortages which have spurred panic buying. Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the virus have spread online and there have been incidents of xenophobia and racism against Chinese and other East and Southeast Asian people, because there is anger, pain and fear. The time has come that some citizens are urging the WORLD to come together to force a regime change in China. Open, humane and responsible. Even if it means resorting to a complete economic boycott and facing economic hardships the world over (this Corona menace is anyway inflicting enough of pain). Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, Sars, killed more than 900 around the world within weeks that also travelled through Chania. Such viruses are painful because for no reason people lives are stalled. Self-isolation at home has been recommended for those diagnosed with COVID-19 and those who suspect they have been infected. Health agencies have issued detailed instructions for proper self-isolation. This sound good as cure but hunger knows no threat, that needs food and think of those millions who are BPL and strays.
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