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Chinese official vows 'complete victory' over coronavirus in a month
by Cassidy Morrison
| February 21, 2020 10:54 AM
China's ambassador to Russia said the coronavirus would be "liquidated next month," despite doubts from U.S. officials about the country's transparency in reporting and tracking cases.
"We can win a complete victory over this virus," Zhang Hanhui told Russian parliamentary official Ivan Melnikov, according to the Financial Times.
"Outside of Hubei, in other regions, we can win this victory already this month," he said. "And in the center of the epidemic, the disease will be liquidated next month."
Zhang said the Chinese government had already made substantial progress in treating patients throughout the country, adding that with the exception of the "central part" of China, where the virus originated, no new infections have been reported in 10 days.
"Today, more than 18,000 people have been discharged from hospitals," Zhang said at a meeting with Melnikov. "In Hubei, especially in Wuhan, the number of infected people is decreasing."
Despite Zhang's optimism, U.S. officials are leery of taking the Chinese government's word for it. A senior administration official told CNBC last week that the United States does “not have high confidence in the information coming out of China." In fact, a January study published in the medical journal the Lancet said the true number of coronavirus cases in China could be about 10 times higher than what the government has reported.
The Chinese government has also turned down offers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send response teams to China to aid medical workers. The World Health Organization, however, was permitted to send its response team in early February.
Zhang told Melnikov that the virus's mortality rate in Hubei was about 2% and just 0.55% in the rest of China. Yet, 2,236 people across the country have died, and the overall number of cases has now surpassed 75,000.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...-complete-victory-over-coronavirus-in-a-month
by Cassidy Morrison
| February 21, 2020 10:54 AM
China's ambassador to Russia said the coronavirus would be "liquidated next month," despite doubts from U.S. officials about the country's transparency in reporting and tracking cases.
"We can win a complete victory over this virus," Zhang Hanhui told Russian parliamentary official Ivan Melnikov, according to the Financial Times.
"Outside of Hubei, in other regions, we can win this victory already this month," he said. "And in the center of the epidemic, the disease will be liquidated next month."
Zhang said the Chinese government had already made substantial progress in treating patients throughout the country, adding that with the exception of the "central part" of China, where the virus originated, no new infections have been reported in 10 days.
"Today, more than 18,000 people have been discharged from hospitals," Zhang said at a meeting with Melnikov. "In Hubei, especially in Wuhan, the number of infected people is decreasing."
Despite Zhang's optimism, U.S. officials are leery of taking the Chinese government's word for it. A senior administration official told CNBC last week that the United States does “not have high confidence in the information coming out of China." In fact, a January study published in the medical journal the Lancet said the true number of coronavirus cases in China could be about 10 times higher than what the government has reported.
The Chinese government has also turned down offers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send response teams to China to aid medical workers. The World Health Organization, however, was permitted to send its response team in early February.
Zhang told Melnikov that the virus's mortality rate in Hubei was about 2% and just 0.55% in the rest of China. Yet, 2,236 people across the country have died, and the overall number of cases has now surpassed 75,000.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...-complete-victory-over-coronavirus-in-a-month
