BEIJING: China faces a potential second wave of coronavirus infections due to a lack of immunity among its population, its government’s senior medical adviser has warned.
After months of lockdowns and curbs on travel China has largely brought the virus under control, but fears of a second wave have risen as clusters have emerged in northeast provinces and in the central city of Wuhan.
“The majority of... Chinese at the moment are still susceptible of the Covid-19 infection, because (of) a lack of immunity,” Zhong Nanshan, the public face of government’s response to the pandemic, told CNN.
“We are facing (a) big challenge,” Zhong added. “It’s not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment.”
Zhong, who helped expose the scale of the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), also said authorities in ground-zero Wuhan had under-reported cases during the early days of the pandemic.
“The local authorities, they didn’t like to tell the truth at that time,” said Zhong, who was part of a team of experts sent to Wuhan to investigate the outbreak.
“I didn’t believe that result (the number of cases reported) so I (kept) asking and then, you have to give me the real number,” he said.
But he added he believed data published after Wuhan was locked down in late January, and when the central government took control of the response, “will be correct.”
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 309,296 people, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP, with scientists around the world racing to find a vaccine.
Zhong cautioned that a “perfect” vaccine for a disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) says may never disappear could take “years.”
Top China expert warns of potential second coronavirus wave
https://arab.news/66vnx
Top China expert warns of potential second coronavirus wave
- After months of lockdowns and curbs on travel China has largely brought the virus under control
- The novel coronavirus has killed at least 309,296 people, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP
France sends aircraft carrier to Mediterranean over Iran war
- France is also sending air defense capacities to Cyprus a day after Iranian-made drones hit the British air base at Akrotiri
- Macron said French forces downed drones “in self-defense” during the opening hours of the conflict on Saturday
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France was sending an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the widening conflict in the Middle East following US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
“I have ordered the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, its air assets, and its escort of frigates to set course for the Mediterranean,” he said in a televised speech a day after he warned of the risk of the conflict spilling over Europe’s borders.
Macron said he was also sending air defense capacities to Cyprus a day after Iranian-made drones hit the Mediterranean island’s British air base at Akrotiri.
“I have also decided to send additional air defense assets and a French frigate, the Languedoc, which will arrive off the coast of Cyprus this evening,” he said.
The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Saturday, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded by targeting US allies across the Middle East.
“The United States of America and Israel decided to launch military operations, conducted outside international law, which we cannot approve of,” said Macron.
But “the Islamic republic of Iran bears primary responsibility for this situation,” he said, because of its “dangerous” nuclear program, support for regional proxies, and orders to shoot “its own people” during protests in January.
Macron said French forces downed drones “in self-defense” during the opening hours of the conflict.
“We reacted immediately and shot down drones in self-defense in the early hours of the conflict to defend the airspace of our allies, who know they can count on us,” he said, referring to defense agreements with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
