Help China to deal with new Covid-19 outbreak

It appears China is back to square one in regard to Covid-19. Millions of people are said to have been infected since the country lifted its zero-Covid policy last month following protests by the public against strict lockdowns.

According to Bloomberg News, almost 250 million people could have been infected in the first 20 days of this month. That, on average, is 12.5 million people every day.

Besides, the sudden lifting of the restrictions, the efficacy of Sinovac and Sinopharm, the two widely used vaccines in the country, against Omicron - the strain said to be ravaging the country - has been doubted.

Doomsday scenes of crematoriums filled with bodies and hospitals overwhelmed with patients, first witnessed in Wuhan, China, following the outbreak of then unidentified virus in 2019, are said to have crept back.

China is gasping for breath. This is not the time to apportion blame over the Chinese government's policies that might have brought the country its current predicament. This is the time for the world to come together and help China to deal with this problem.

The good thing is that unlike in 2019 when the world was groping in the dark, a lot is now known about Covid-19. Virtually everyone now knows what precautions to take to minimise chances of getting infected or infecting others.

In addition, we have a good number of Covid-19 vaccines and also medicines.

Countries should donate to China these vaccines, medicines, and other medical supplies urgently. They should also send medical staff to China. But that can only happen if Beijing is open with information on the current outbreak and also open to such donations.

The world must also be vigilant to ensure that the ballooning nightmare in China does not spill over to other parts of the world as happened after the outbreak in Wuhan in 2019. Everything must be done to avoid pushing the world back to the stifling Covid-19 darkness.