No better option than lockdown to contain coronavirus infection: Dr Jha

Dr Rajib Jha has said there is no better option than lockdown to contain coronavirus. Sharing the Chinese experience, Dr Jha, who is also the Chairman of China-Nepal Medical Research Centre, reminded that Chinese people maintained such discipline that fully cooperated with government move to cope up the crisis.

Jha, who is now in Nepal, shared that after China was returning normal with three months’ menace of COVID-19, it began extending assistance to other needy countries. He strongly recommends other countries that the Chinese method of containing virus would be effective.

Medical professor Dr Jha, who has been staying in China for more than two decades, informed that China was now in a stage to announce China free of coronavirus.

"China projected the spread of coronavirus in an alarming rate in the very beginning and announced lockdown in its epicenter Wuhan, and gradually to other provinces. Although some took it negatively, it was compulsory indeed," he said, urging other countries to strictly implement the lockdown. The recklessness and anarchy do not work at such crisis.

He further said, "Lockdown became effective measure to separate people, stop gathering. Hospitals were set up in no time. Thousands of medical and health workers were fielded for service. The health workers collected samples reaching every home. People also became active to undergo test and abided by the quarantine. Such are the practices that made China successful to beat the deadly virus."

According to him, Chinese were confident of beating the spread of coronavirus for its technology, human resource and previous experience of SARS. Similarly, will power of the leadership, availability of physical materials and support and cooperation by the citizen are others to credit for such achievement.

Although some western countries raised the human rights issue while imposing lockdown in China, he observed, "It was more than human rights ideal, actually the protection of human life. Saving life is top priority in epidemic."

Of late, China has rapidly tapered the number of death and new cases of COVID-19. Over 3,000 Chinese citizens lost lives to this pandemic.

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