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SADC stands in solidarity with China – Commends China for swift measures to contain coronavirus outbreak

SADC stands in solidarity with China – Commends China for swift measures to contain coronavirus outbreak

The Southern African Development Community presented a letter of solidarity with the People and the Government of the China, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in December 2019.

The letter expressed compassion to the families of those who lost their lives to the disease, and extended the goodwill to those who are still afflicted with this infirmity, as well as the people who are providing the care and support.

SADC commended the Chinese Government for the swift measures taken to contain the virus, and the continued efforts at the front-line of detecting, managing and preventing the spread of the virus.

Dr. Yanbo expressed his gratitude to the international community, including SADC Member States and the African Union, for the support and solidarity given to his country following the outbreak of the scourge.

According to Dr. Yanbo, to date, more than 38,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in China. He added that according to the latest figures, as of 9 February, 97 people had died, of which 91 in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. However, he indicated that current statistics on the new cases is on the decline, showing an encouraging positive sign that the outbreak is on the verge of containment.

He further said in the endeavour to mitigate and prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Chinese Government has demonstrated extensive capacity in her public health sector, having learnt significantly from past experiences on the outbreaks, such as H1N1 and SARS pandemics in 2003, which were some of the worst health crises in recent Chinese history. Consequently, the Chinese Government has developed resilient public health system to contain the disease.

He stressed that over 9,000 health professionals have been deployed in Hubei province to help contain and manage the pandemic.


Caption: The letter was presented to Dr.Zhao Yanbo, the Chinese Ambassador to Botswana, by Jorge Cardoso, the Director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs at the SADC Secretariat on Monday, 10 February, on behalf of Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the SADC Executive Secretary.


 

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Donald Matthys

Donald Matthys has been part of the media fraternity since 2015. He has been working at the Namibia Economist for the past three years mainly covering business, tourism and agriculture. Donald occasionally refers to himself as a theatre maker and has staged two theatre plays so far. Follow him on twitter at @zuleitmatthys