On January 31, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York Huang Ping received interview with NBC 10 Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Inquirer on the decisive and strong measures taken by China to combat novel coronavirus.
Huang Ping said that responding to the current epidemic is the most important and urgent task of the Chinese government. President Xi Jinping always puts the lives and health security first and has made important instructions and comprehensive deployment. The Chinese government has adopted prompt, strong and scientific measures. All China is in action. The measures are classified in a scientific way, including extending the Spring Festival holiday, delaying new school session, and temporarily closing some public avenues. As of January 30th, the spending of the Chinese government in the epidemic prevention and control reached 3.94 billion US dollars. China is able to set up a special hospital to accept thousands of infected patients in a short period, reflecting the efficiency and determination of the Chinese government in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
Huang Ping emphasized that China carried out the epidemic prevention and control in an open, transparent, and responsible manner. The data is released timely and accurately. Although the current epidemic challenge is severe, the measures taken by China are yielding positive results. We have confidence in defeating the epidemic.
Huang Ping pointed out that China notified the World Health Organization and relevant countries, including the United States, of the epidemic situation as soon as possible, and shared the viral genome sequence to help all parties respond to the epidemic in a timely and effective manner. Both sides from China and the United States have cooperated in response to the epidemic. For example, Professor Ian Lipkin of the School of Public Health, Columbia University, known as the "virus hunter", assisted China in controlling SARS in 2003. Professor Lipkin went back to China again to fight epidemic in the forefront.
Huang Ping said that the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that China's preventive and control actions were unprecedented. China has demonstrated its speed, strength and effectiveness, and won praise from the international community. WHO has confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak. There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. It is not recommended to restrict trade and personnel movements. The epidemic is mainly in China, and its spread to other countries is still limited. Countries should follow the WHO's recommendations, and avoid overreactions and greater negative impacts.
NBC 10 Philadelphia broadcast the interview in the news program. NBC 10 Philadelphia is part of NBC Universal, a subsidiary of Comcast Group, and covers Philadelphia and surrounding areas, Pennsylvanian, Delaware and New Jersey. The Philadelphia Inquirer is the largest newspaper in Pennsylvanian, and its distribution mainly includes Philadelphia and surrounding areas, Pennsylvanian and southern New Jersey.