I fully agree with World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that concerning the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic “this is the time for solidarity, not stigma”.
Significantly, Tedros (Ethiopian people’s names end in a patronymic rather than a family name the same as Chinese names) made the remarks during a visit to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he met with President Felix Tshisekedi to brief him on the WHO’s decision to extend the emergency status of the Ebola virus disease (EVD), as reported by The Macau Post Daily on its front page on Thursday.
However, Tedros also warned, according to the UN News website, that “worrying signs are emerging that the world is not standing in unison with those at the epicentre in China who are saving lives and alleviating suffering.”
That’s worrying indeed. Let’s hope that reason and solidarity will prevail. There are some positive signs. For instance, a meeting of the EU member states’ health ministers in Brussels last week underlined the importance of global solidarity in responding to the threat caused by the novel coronavirus – and in Lisbon Portuguese Primeira Liga champions Benfica expressed solidarity with China before their home league match against Sporting Braga on Saturday. Braga beat Benfica 1:0, but that’s another story.
No doubt, solidarity, not stigma (such as claiming that COVID-19 is a disease “made in China” and similar asinine nonsense smacking of racism) is what we need. And we do need it on every level – personal, local, regional, national and, last but not least, international.
On the personal level, we should show compassion for all those who have come down with the disease and sympathy for those who have fallen victim to this darned virus. On the local level, there should be solidarity between employers and employees. On the regional level, there should be, for instance, solidarity among the 11 Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities. On the national level, there should be solidarity among the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. And on the international level there should be solidarity among the world’s nearly 200 states (the UN has 193 member states and two observer states, the Holy See and the State of Palestine), irrespective of their starkly different social, political and economic systems, as well as among the hundreds of major international organisations.
In a decidedly realistic approach towards the epidemic, President Xi Jinping stressed during a Central Committee meeting on Friday the need to strengthen areas of weakness and close the loopholes exposed by the current epidemic. He also said, according to Xinhua, that the ongoing fight against the epidemic is a major test of the nation’s system and capacity for governance.
Macau’s fight against the disease has been a success. The fact that there have been “only” 10 COVID-19 patients in Macau, five of whom have already been discharged from hospital, is a clear indication that the government’s anti-COVID0-19 measures are working well. But there is no room for complacency and we – government and civil society – must not let our guard down. The crisis isn’t over yet. Let’s be optimistic but patient and cautious as well. I am quite sure that Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and his team share my view. Safety first – and lots of solidarity to boot!
Harald Brüning
