Old friendships renewed as Africa mission broadens

When Wang Junhui met his old friends at the Sino-Congo Friendship Hospital in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DR Congo, after saying goodbye to them two years ago, he was so excited. But one thing was missing: They couldn't all have a good hug like they used to.

"We had to keep a social distancing to avert the infection risk," Wang said. He was leading a team of 12 medical experts from China's Hebei province to help the DR Congo fight the coronavirus. Their work took place from May 12 to 23.

According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, as of Wednesday, the Central African country had reported 2,546 COVID-19 cases, including 68 deaths. Some 365 patients have recovered.

"I once worked at the hospital from 2016 to 2018 and are familiar with the country and its people," Wang said.

Back then, he was part of a Chinese medical team sent to help the country improve its health services.

"They are so grateful for us coming at this critical time," he said of his visit this month. Wang's team shared with the hospital the Chinese experience of classified management on isolation wards, disinfection methods and treatment for patients in a critical condition.

During their 12-day stay, they took part in almost 30 set sessions, including the time spent in sharing their experiences with local staff and training medics and community workers. They also helped out in improving the country's capacity to carry out nucleic acid tests among the population.

As planned, they left for the Republic of Congo on Saturday for similar tasks. And they've got a new mission to go to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe at the end of May and then come back to China.

Wang said he was impressed with the efforts of his peers in Africa in combating the pandemic.

Least affected region

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Africa is, so far, the region least affected by the pandemic and the continent hasn't seen a mass outbreak, Xinhua reported.

Figures from the Africa CDC showed that as of Wednesday, 119,391 cases of coronavirus infection had been reported across Africa, with 3,589 deaths.

Wang Xiaochun, a senior adviser for disease control with the Africa CDC, said: "Fast reaction and early strict measures are crucial to slowing the virus' spread in Africa."

The adviser said that, within a week of the first case in Africa on Feb 15, most African countries had launched measures, including closing borders, some forms of travel restrictions, national and partial lockdowns and curfews, as well as the suspension of school classes.

The relatively low mobility of people in Africa also helped lower the risk of transmission, he said.

Moreover, Africa has had experience responding to infectious diseases like HIV, malaria, cholera, dengue fever, lassa fever, measles and Ebola. "Medics and the public are experienced in public health measures like contact tracing," the adviser said.

However, a high risk for a mass outbreak of coronavirus infections in Africa remains, as countries there had entered a stage of community transmission, Wang Xiaochun said.

So far, China has sent medical supplies and assistance to over 50 African countries including Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya.