Chinese ambassador to Namibia, Zhang Yiming, has heaped praise on President Hage Geingob and his government for having acted boldly without wasting time by declaring the recent state of emergency.
In contrast to some countries he accused of having wasted precious time when informed about the virus outbreak, he noted, “Namibia adopted a completely different approach. After the first case was confirmed on March 14, the Namibian government immediately declared the state of emergency, and took decisive and forceful measures such as lockdown and social distancing.” “The message from China was absolutely clear, but some countries wasted the whole of February and early March before they acted,” stated Zhang who requested the culprit countries to humbly reflect on their mistakes and indecisiveness that led to the loss of many lives.
“At the end of February, the WHO director general warned with a pointed sign that “No country should assume it won’t get cases; that could be a fatal mistake”, while a certain American politician was burbling that, “It’s going to disappear. One day —it’s like a miracle—it will disappear,” a veiled reference to President Donald Trump.
The Chinese ambassador noted, “No new cases were reported for more than 30 consecutive days since the report of the 16th case, and no death cases and community transmission occurred. It can be said that Namibia has done a much better job than many western countries, demonstrating the Namibian government’s high sense of responsibility for protecting people’s lives and health.”
Trump has been lambasted by his critics who accuse him of having wasted time, initially having downplayed the pandemic. The United States now has the most cases of Covid-19. Early this year, he had downplayed the threat posed by the virus even lashing out at his political rivals for a “new hoax.” Even at the time his own administration was issuing travel warnings, Trump held campaign rallies for the US presidency slated for later this year.
Zhang also stated, “China has always acted in an open, transparent, and responsible manner and has tried its best to curb the spread of the epidemic. The so-called Chinese cover up or nonfeasance did not exist.”
“China actively carried out international cooperation. The measures taken in notification, prevention and control are extremely fast, transparent and effective, many of which go well beyond the requirements of the International Health Regulations. Regarding China’s early response to the epidemic, the WHO experts team visited China on site and submitted a comprehensive report, highly appraising China’s response,” the ambassador informed New Era.
“The virus is the enemy of the whole human race. It does not respect borders or races. To defeat the virus, mankind needs to choose confidence over panic, unity over division, and cooperation over scapegoating. The Chinese people will never forget the heart warming help from the international community,” stressed Zhang.