Koon Yew Yin 7 June 2020
Currently US has 1.96 million confirmed Covid 19 cases and 111,000 deaths and these 2 figures are still increasing at an alarming rate. When US started to have Covid 19 cases, US President Trump said that the virus was made in China. Yes, like most Americans, Trump cannot go by a day without the use of products made in China.
Currently China has so few cases that can be countered with your fingers. That is why US President Trump does not believe China’s success in the prevention and cure of Covid 19 patients. China’s key to success is complete lockdown Wuhan, a city of 12 million people. After 76 days of lockdown, the city is open up again and people are moving about like before. China continues to improve its economy while US is still struggling with the increasing number of Covid 19 cases, jobless claims and riots in most cities.
An old English saying “He who laughs last, laughs best”.
But Trump cannot lockdown the whole country because the number of jobless claims is increasing to about 40 million, 1 in 5 people is out of work. Moreover, millions of people are joining the riots in most cities in America due to the killing of George Floyd by the police. Obviously, a US recession is invertible. To win more vote for the coming November election, Trump continues to bash China and most Americans like it.
To clarify the misunderstanding China has just released a white paper for all to see.
From early outbreak to an all-out nationwide effort to save as many lives as possible, the Chinese Government has taken the most comprehensive, the strictest and the most thorough prevention and control measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak, according to the white paper released by the State Council Information Office on Sunday.
The white paper, titled “Fighting COVID-19: China in Action,” lists major actions and important lessons collected from the pandemic over the past several months.
Early at the outbreak
During the early stages of the outbreak, there were not enough hospital beds for the surging number of critical COVID-19 patients. So, making more beds available was the focus.
China achieved the miracle of building two large hospitals in just days and created more than 1,000 beds with medical capabilities in Wuhan, the then epicentre of the outbreak. And existing hospitals were enlarged to provide more beds.
The number of hospital beds in Wuhan increased from 1,000 to 9,100 to drastically reduce the waiting time by critically ill patients for treatment.
Interference for mild cases
Early treatment can limit the development of COVID-19. About 80 percent of patients only showed mild symptoms and didn’t need ICU beds to recover early in the outbreak.
For these people, Wuhan turned 16 stadiums and exhibition halls into temporary medical centres, adding 13,000 more beds to put mild cases into quarantine. This greatly limited the long-term spread of the novel coronavirus.
Advanced technology, such as remote video diagnosis, was another special feature of China’s plan for mild cases. With 5G and optic fibre, hospitals across China were linked together to form a nationwide network against the epidemic.
Up-to-date treatment plans
As an early battleground of the COVID-19 epidemic, China has issued seven evidence-based guidelines on coronavirus diagnosis and treatment, which have proven to be effective in global epidemic prevention and control.
Soon after the outbreak, Chinese experts have updated seven versions of the guidelines in less than two months to provide clinical staff with the latest effective methods in identifying, diagnosing and treating the disease, which had never been experienced in China before but with wide and quick infection rate.
Each version was updated with a better knowledge of the clinical manifestations and pathology of COVID-19, and has provided clinical medical personnel with efficient guidance.
TCM, a promising option
Experts in China have opted for a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and western medicines for COVID-19 patients, as both have strengths.
Data shows TCM has been used on more than 90 percent of China’s COVID-19 patients. In Wuhan, the hardest-hit city, nearly all patients in temporary hospitals have been treated with TCM to increase recovery rates and lower mortality rates.
As the spread in other countries continues, Chinese doctors, who served on the front line in fighting against COVID-19 in Wuhan, share TCM information and experience with their international peers from around the world via video conferences.
Helping COVID-19 patients pay medical bills
China has updated its health insurance policy by adjusting that of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients who were provided with treatment first irrespective of cost issues.
For these medical costs, public finance provides subsidies for the deductible borne by individuals, while the rest is covered by basic medical insurance, critical illness insurance programs and medical assistance per their respective rules.