Barbadians in China doing well

Barbadian students stationed in The People’s Republic of China are doing “very well” and should continue to be safe from the Coronavirus once they heed the instructions of Chinese authorities and stay at home.

China’s ambassador to Barbados, His Excellency, Yan Xiusheng provided the update amid the growing epidemic that reportedly started last December in the country.

“I just want to use this opportunity to let the parents of students in China from Barbados know that all the students in China are doing well and I suggest that they follow the instructions of Chinese authorities and just stay at home, protect themselves and everything will soon be over,” the ambassador told Barbados TODAY on Friday.

“The epidemic will be over, the difficulties will be over with the strong efforts and the cooperation between China and the world community, we will win the battle against this epidemic eventually,” Mr. Xiusheng declared.

The World Health Organisation (WHO)’s most recent figures indicate that 31,211 of the 31,481 cases reported globally have been recorded in China. The outbreak has resulted in 637 deaths in the Asian country.

But according to Mr. Xiusheng, only 19 foreign nationals in China have been infected, two of whom have been “cured”, while the other 17 remain under quarantine. Those figures represented the latest situation at the end of February 6.

“China has attached great importance to the safety of foreign nationals in China and tried its best to address difficulties they faced by keeping them informed about the epidemic through various channels… Barbados’ embassy is also included,” the Chinese ambassador assured.

Over a week ago, Barbados’ Ambassador to China Francois Jackman told Barbados TODAY students stationed in Wuhan were “rattled but healthy”. He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been fully briefed on the condition of the three students, two males and one female currently held up in their college dormitories.

“All of the students in Wuhan who are registered with the Embassy have been contacted directly and have reported that they are in good health and they are following the instructions issued by the university authorities,” assured a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, in his most recent update, Chinese Ambassador Xiusheng added that the Chinese government continued to employ “serious, decisive and vigorous” prevention control methods since the outbreak, noting that the “speed, intensity and coverage” of China’s response has been unprecedented.

Xiusheng contended that although a large number of people have been infected by the virus, the mortality rate in China which stands at 2.1 per cent of total infections is much lower than Ebola’s 40.4 per cent, the ten per cent of deaths from Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or the 30 per cent recorded during the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb