Shi Ting Wan – Chinese Ambassador in Ghana
Dr Zhou Yuehan, the Spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, says the Chinese Government has made provisions to get foreign students including; Ghanaians in Hubei and Wuhan sufficient food and medical support.
He said they acknowledged how Ghanaian students in China and their relatives were worried.
However, he said: “Please be rest assured that the Ghanaian students in Wuhan and Hubei will get sufficient food and medical support.”
The Chinese Government, he said, pledged efforts to sustain continuous supply of necessities to the virus-stricken areas, where Ghanaian students also resided.
Hubei and Wuhan as cities in China have since the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2019 recorded high outbreaks.
Dr Yuehan, in an interview said there were many hospitals for the treatment of pneumonia caused by the CORVID-19 in Wuhan and other places in China, and an effective response programme was formulated to its effect.
Though some countries had evacuated their citizens from Wuhan, the World Health Organisation said flying out in a rush was not recommended, as it believed the best way was to stay put and enhance self-protection, he said.
On his part, people were more likely to become infected during evacuation, saying, China’s medical condition was better as compared to that of most countries.
“We have gathered valuable experiences from the battle with SARS epidemic. We have built two hospitals with over 2500 beds in just over a week in Wuhan, the epicentre. And we have mobilised over 10,000 medical staffs nationwide to assist Wuhan,” he said.
He advised that Ghanaians in China remained calm and rational, not to over react, while having a good confidence in the ability of the Chinese government to contain the outbreak.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Dr Yuehan said the universities and foreign offices in Wuhan were making every effort to ensure that students had sufficient access to medical care and daily necessities.
Among them were distribution of free masks and personal sterilisation equipment to students, serving them with free meals just downstairs of their dormitory, including; breakfast, lunch and supper, and delivery of supplies for daily use to dormitories as students placed order online.
Others were a routine inspection and monitoring of temperature of each student every day by the University, a publishing of a 24-hour English speaking service hotline for foreigners including; the Ghanaian students by the Chinese Government and arranging immediately for a students to be given medical treatment anytime they are unwell.
Dr Yuehan said they learnt the Ghanaian government had released $250,000 to assist the students to improve their well-being in such a trying time.
Mr Edward Boateng, the Ghanaian Ambassador to China, he disclosed, had 48 hour calls with the student leadership and leaders of the Ghanaian community in China to ensure their safety.
“And the Ghanaian Embassy has published relevant protocols and the Consular hotline. Once any Ghanaian in China is quarantined and the status of illness is yet to be confirmed as CORVID-19 or otherwise, please also contact the Consular hotline of the Embassy which are +8618612084232 and +8618612959040,” he said.
He said China’s economic fundamentals that supported its long-term growth would remain unchanged, adding that they were capable of minimizing the epidemic’s impact on their economy.
“In fact, international institutions including; the IMF and the World Bank noted that China had enough policy space to deal with the epidemic and China’s efforts have effectively reduced the risks the world economy may be exposed to,” he added.
–GNA