By John Okeke
Despite the Corona virus infection in China , the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, Amb. Zhou Pingjian, has said that the embassy was in full operation and very effective.
Pingjian, stated this while briefing newsmen on the coronavirus situation in that country and the measures put in place to contain the scourge.
He further advised Nigerians planning to travel to China to suspend their plans if it is not urgent pending when the spread of the virus would be contained.
He said that prevalence of the novel coronavirus would not affect China’s economy.
Zhou expressed confidence that the country’s economy and trade cooperation with the international world would remain strong.
He expressed appreciation to the Nigerian government for its show of support to the people of China.
In the same vein, information obtained showed that Expatriates in Shanghai, the city with the largest number of foreigners on the Chinese mainland, said they feel “pretty safe” despite the novel coronavirus outbreak.
They are also satisfied with the information given by the government about the latest conditions, preventive measures and case numbers.
Jasur Mavlyanov, from Uzbekistan, said the community he has called home in suburban Songjiang district for two years conducts temperature checks on all residents and visitors at its gates, as do nearby supermarkets.
The 34-year-old, who manages a trading company, said he lives in a neighborhood where about one in three of the residents are from overseas. When they talk about the virus, they all agree that the Shanghai government has been very quick to respond and provides sufficient measures to prevent its further spread.
Mavlyanov, who lived for seven years in Wuhan, Hubei province-the contagion’s epicenter-and is paying extra attention to efforts to contain the virus, said he was very touched by the united and heartwarming community atmosphere in fighting it. For example, he said one of his friends in the neighborhood bought 12,000 surgical masks to donate through various channels.
“I also know a young man from Uzbekistan who is a student at a Chinese university who flew to Guangzhou (Guangdong province) on Saturday to donate more than 10,000 masks to the public,” Mavlyanov said.