China is engaged in an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and which continues to expand. We are given to understand that coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS, SARS, and now with 2019-nCoV. As a major responsible country, China has been working very hard to fight against the coronavirus while preventing the spread of it.

    Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, has been in lockdown since January 23rd, with public transport suspended, roads out of the city blocked and flights canceled. Meanwhile, some villages have set up barricades to stop outsiders from entering. At this moment, I believe that this is another test for China and the world community after SARS. After the outbreak of the disease, China identified the pathogen in a short time and shared it immediately, which has led to the rapid development of diagnostic tools. This has given us great confidence to fight against viral pneumonia.

In such a severe situation, in order to eliminate the virus as quickly as possible and ensure the safety of people’s lives, the government has adopted a series of important control measures. The school has delayed the start of school, and most companies have extended the Spring Festival holiday. These measures have taken to help bring the outbreak under control. Please keep in mind that your health and safety is a priority for you and for the Academy too, and this is the first step we should all take in order to be a part of our joint effort to confront this challenge. When facing the sudden epidemic, Overseas Chinese have responded earnestly to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China as the number of infected cases continues to rise. As the outbreak of the disease has led to the rising demand for medical supplies, overseas Chinese have organized large donations for those in urgent need back home.  

Meanwhile, thousands of protective suits and medical masks have been shipped  to China by business owners. We are very grateful to these kind persons making every effort to combat virus spread. As we know the public face of China’s effort to control a new kind of coronavirus is an 83-year-old doctor. Zhong Nanshan is a specialist in respiratory diseases. He became famous 17 years ago for “daring to speak” in the fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as SARS. I believe that the novel coronavirus vaccine at least a month away under his leadership and the help of the international community. 

As an international trade practitioner in Wuhan, the epicentre of this epidemic, I believe that the epidemic will be fully controlled soon because China is a big and responsible country. All of our staff are working online at home now.