Calls for greater solidarity in fight against coronavirus should be heeded: China Daily editorial

The latest epidemic statistics have raised hopes that some light is now being seen at the end of what has seemed a very long, dark tunnel. Although the number of deaths continues to rise, the number of people who have been confirmed cured is rising at a much faster rate, and the ratio was 5:1 on Wednesday.

It has instilled confidence in the country that the fight against the virus is being won.

Although both the number of people confirmed to be infected with the virus and the number suspected of being infected are still rising — both by about 4,000 cases a day — there are expectations that the objective of plateauing the number of new infections may soon be attained as the daily growth in suspected cases looks set to decelerate below that of confirmed cases in the near future.

That the number of visits to fever clinics each day, including those not caused by the virus, dropped by 7 percent on Monday compared with the number the previous day — the first time since the outbreak of the epidemic, according to the National Health Commission — has served to reinforce confidence that the hard-fought battle is being won.

Yet the boost of optimism must not lead to any complacency that might render all these positive trends in vain. It should be borne in mind that the virus is still killing around 60 people each day in this country. It has therefore come as some surprise to people here that some countries are not doing all they can to support China in what is a brutal fight.

As the World Health Organization has stressed 99 percent of all novel coronavirus cases are in China. And with swift and resolute actions taken to quarantine Hubei province to prevent the spread of the virus, 97 percent of the deaths have been in Hubei.

Despite being a developing country, China has always been ready to extend a helping hand to other needy peoples when there has been a public health emergency, as shown by the assistance it provided various countries during previous outbreaks, such as the H1N1 influenza virus and Ebola. It has never associated ethnicity as the cause for an outbreak of a particular disease.

It is fully aware that to help others during a public health emergency not only helps itself, but also manifests the humanitarian spirit.

Yet some developed countries have not displayed the same spirit this time. As the head of WHO revealed on Tuesday, some of them "are well behind in sharing their vital data" in defiance of their obligations as stipulated by the International Health Regulations — "I don't think it's because they lack capacity", he said.

Some of those countries have also opted to close their doors on China, whether because of fear or, worse, a desire to harm. Their decision — which the WHO deems unnecessary and opposes — is not based on evidence and rationality, and it not only hurts trade and exchanges, but also fuels "fear and stigma" as the WHO warned.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday noting the enormous resources that China has mobilized to curb the spread of the virus called for solidarity and urged countries to avoid stigmatization of people who are innocent victims of the situation.

Should his appeal for a "strong feeling of support for China" fall on deaf ears, the world might pay the price for losing the window of opportunity to arrest the virus that has been hard-earned by China's heroic efforts.