China's Experiences in COVID-19 Fight in Eyes of Media

NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) — As the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading across the world, more attention is being devoted to experiences of countries like China in the fight against the virus.

An article published by Forbes on Thursday recognized that "China and South Korea models seem like only way to contain COVID-19."

South Korea provided its approach of massive free testing and treatment, "which also corralled the disease and kept new infection rates low."

Medical workers walk past cherry trees at a hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March, 14, 2020. [Xinhua/Fei Maohua]

The China model has worked, which includes lockdowns and quarantining, as well as monetary and fiscal stimulus, Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, chief economist for Boston Consulting Group in New York, said as quoted by the American business magazine.

"The high frequency data in China, the proxies for movement for goods and people, all of those see a nice pick-up," said the economist.

The article also quoted Lebanese-American academic Nassim Nicholas Taleb, "black swan" forecaster and author of the book Skin in the Game, who said that self-protective quarantine, lockdowns of outbreak clusters and testing are the best precautionary approach to pandemic outbreaks.

The editorial board of USA Today wrote on March 10 about lessons learnt from China and suggested 4 steps that could help mitigate the pandemic:

— Aggressively inform the public

— Conduct rapid shoe-leather epidemiology

— Take advantage of online health care

— Supply cost-free care

The article raised examples of China restlessly raising public awareness of the coronavirus and prevention of its spread; rapid identification and tracking; ample use of online platforms and mobile phones to speed up the delivery of medical services.

"They have largely stemmed the epidemic," Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was quoted as saying.

A man wearing a face mask walks towards his motorcycle in Rome, Italy, on March 15, 2020. [Xinhua/Cheng Tingting]

Eunice Yoon, a senior correspondent with CNBC based in Beijing, shared her personal experiences of self-protection as she has been covering the coronavirus epidemic in China since the beginning of the outbreak.

In her article written on March 9, Yoon offered her advices as more and more people in the world are getting affected by the virus.

"Try not to panic," Yoon suggested in the first place, adding that following personal hygiene advice is one's best protection.

She went on answering the most common questions from her personal angel, like should people wear masks or is it safe to travel.

"I have heard the argument that masks can be flawed as protection since they usually aren't a perfect seal. However, I don't see the harm in wearing one in cases where crowds cannot be avoided," Yoon said.

"There are different treatment protocols out there but so far, if you get COVID-19, your best defense will be your own immune system," she said.

"I also realized while reporting on the epidemic how connected we truly are... It is in our interest to share with each other, so we all stay healthier, and overcome the coronavirus faster," said Yoon.

(Source: Xinhua)