What Kenya can learn from China’s coronavirus response
- Strict adherence to social distancing
- Careful planning and clear relay of communication
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, there are some valuable measures that China took that can be instructive in dealing with the pandemic.
While the rest of the world continues to grapple with the pandemic of Covid-19, China is steadily and gradually getting back to normalcy with businesses and companies starting to open back again.
There are various notable and valuable lessons that Kenya can learn from China:
Speed and Accuracy in response
During the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan, there were basically no test kits available. This called on the use of lab analyses which were labor-intensive and quite costly. The National Medical Products Administration of China took immediate action to speed up the work of biotech companies to develop detection kits.
Lockdown of virus hotspots
On January 23, China locked down Wuhan and Hubei province. Being the primary points where the virus was reported, it was prudent of the government to lock the province so as to limit and reduce the chances of the virus spreading to other parts of the vast country.
Testing and contact tracing
China immediately ramped up the testing capacity in response to the rising number of confirmed cases. This enabled the government to establish the number of confirmed cases in the country as well as helped in tracking other people who could have come into contact with those infected with the virus
Accurate and steady relay of information
China provided the public with a continuous and accurate relay of information. The major media organizations provided daily updates on the number of Covid-19 cases, treatment and clinical outcomes as well as measures and guidelines to be followed.
China invested big in data and information relay. Installation of thermal scanners, setting up of an app that allowed people to find out if they were near infected people using big data and artificial intelligence. The government also released constant updates about the prevalence of the virus in the country.
Enough resources and medical personnel
The high mortality rates Wuhan were attributed in part to the lack of medical resources available at the time of immediate need. Wuhan’s lack of disaster control management response mechanisms led to poor disease containment, widespread cross-infection in patients and healthcare workers in hospitals and weeks of chaos.
The shortage of protective medical supplies and lack of knowledge about COVID-19 were the main factors causing the large number of healthcare workers to contract the virus in the early weeks of the outbreak in Wuhan.
Implementation of preventive measures
Coronavirus has shown that it is has no respect to anyone’s religion, age, race or social class. It is thus important to mobilize everybody to get involved in the fight to end the virus. Washing of hands regularly using soap, avoiding crowded areas, sneezing or coughing into a flexed elbow or disposable handkerchief are some of the important guidelines that should be adhered to.
Above all, this pandemic has taught us of the need to always be prepared to prevent and control disasters. It has also emphasized the need to modernize and upgrade the mechanisms of disaster and disease control.
