The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, that it had not stopped the issuance of visas to Nigerians wishing to travel to China.
Sun Sai Xiong, the embassy’s press officer, made this clarification in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
Sun added that the Embassy had also not suspended its operation as earlier reported.
He reiterated the Chinese government’s commitment to safeguarding the lives of Nigerians and other nationals living in that country in the face of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the Asian country.
Briefing journalists on the coronavirus situation in that country on Monday, February 3, 2020, the embassy had said that effective measures to contain the scourge had been adopted.
Zhou Pingjian, the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, told journalists that China had taken the most comprehensive, rigorous containment and mitigation measures beyond the requirements of International Health Regulations, to prevent a further spread of the virus.
Zhou said that by such measures, China was not only safeguarding the health of its people, but also that of other people around the world.
According to him, checking the spread of the coronavirus disease is a common concern of the international community.
“Life comes first. The Chinese government is committed to safeguarding the lives and health of the Chinese people.
“We will, in a responsible manner, safeguard the life of every foreign national in China and address their legitimate concerns in a timely manner.
“We will continue to strengthen communication and coordination with the international community and work hand in hand for the prevention and control of the epidemic,’’ he said.
He also advised other countries to adopt a responsible attitude, work together to combat the virus, and avoid overreaction that might result in more negative spillover effects.
He added that a total of 60 Nigerians were living in Wuhan city where the virus broke out from, adding that no Nigerian in China had been infected.
Zhou said that the authorities were maintaining regular communication with them in case of any need for assistance.
Chinese Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 170 As Infections Spread To 18 Countries
The number of deaths from the new coronavirus outbreak in China has climbed to 170, with the virus now spreading to every province in the country, state media reported on Thursday, January 30, 2020.
While nearly 99 percent of the 7,874 diagnoses have been limited to China, other cases have been diagnosed in 18 other countries, including the U.S.
A total of 1,239 of them are in critical condition. Of those killed, 162 deaths occurred in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.
Seventy cases have also been detected in more than two dozen countries worldwide, with person-to-person transmissions reported in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
The World Health Organisation will reconvene its expert committee on Thursday to determine whether to declare the rapidly spreading outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general has said the group “deeply regrets” referring to the worldwide risk from the virus as “moderate” rather than “high” in several reports last week.
The outbreak made the Swedish furniture group Ikea decide on Thursday to temporarily close all of its stores in China after it said on the previous day it would close approximately half of its branches.
Qualifying matches for the Asian Football Confederation championship scheduled to take place in China will be postponed and played away from home due to the coronavirus outbreak, the league said.
Home matches for the Chinese clubs from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in the AFC Champions League Group Stage were due to kick off between February and early March.
The decision to re-order the matches was made after close consultation with the Chinese Football Association, the AFC said.
They join a growing list of sporting events cancelled following the outbreak.
Overnight, Lufthansa, KLM, Finnair, American Airlines, and IndiGo joined the growing number of airlines that suspended some or all flights to China.
New Zealand is chartering an aircraft to bring home its citizens stuck in Wuhan, foreign minister Winston Peters said.
The Air New Zealand aircraft would have a capacity for around 300 passengers and will fly from Wuhan directly to New Zealand.
David Clark, the health minister told media the government was still working on the quarantine plans for those who return from China. Currently there were 53 New Zealanders registered in Wuhan.
“We have not yet had a case of coronavirus” in New Zealand, Clark said.
Meanwhile, Japan confirmed on Thursday, January 30, 2020, that three of the 206 Japanese citizens evacuated from Wuhan on the previous day have been infected with the virus.
Two of them did not show any symptoms. Twelve of the 206 have been hospitalized, Tokyo said.
A second chartered flight carrying a group of 210 Japanese evacuees from Wuhan arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport earlier in the day.
Japan confirmed the second suspected person-to-person infection late Wednesday. The first person-to-person infection was a bus driver, the government said on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the government found a tour guide working with the driver was also infected. The two rode in a bus with visitors from Wuhan.
That brings the total number of infections in Japan to 11.
