Tianjin offers guidelines, hotlines for foreigners to combate novel coronavirus

Government authorities in Tianjin on Tuesday began providing guidelines to foreigners living in the city to help them deal with the recent coronavirus outbreak after the arrival of an infected flight from Malaysia with a number of foreigners aboard.

Eighty-six passengers and crew members aboard Malindo Air Flight OD688 from Sabah, Malaysia — which arrived in Tianjin on Saturday — were isolated after landing on Saturday. Three people aboard had developed fevers during the flight.

Two people on the flight have now been confirmed as having the novel coronavirus, one of whom had traveled from Wuhan, Hubei province, to Malaysia and was en route home.

Of the passengers, 31 were residents of Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter, and 48 were from other places, according to Jinyun News. The flight had seven crew members.

Sixteen Malaysian and Bolivian passengers were among those isolated and placed under observation in a hotel in Tianjin’s Dongli district, triggering concerns by foreigners in the city.

As of Tuesday, the city had confirmed 27 cases of the novel virus.

Authorities in charge of foreign experts in the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau released a guideline for foreigners and published a public telephone hotline — 86-022-58832998. The guideline lists specific steps for foreigners to get rapid medical service.

Yu Xuefeng, head of the foreign experts division of the bureau, told China Daily that foreigners can call the hotline for help, or use a WeChat account dedicated to medical services that has been in use since 2016. Connecting to the WeChat channel requires proficiency in Chinese, and a foreigner may need assistance.

“We expect them to carefully read the bilingual guidelines to help raise their protection awareness and relieve their worries,” she said.

The local foreign affairs office also released a public letter for foreigners living and traveling in Tianjin on Wednesday. It listed a 24-hour hotline — 022-58368675 — along with prevention guidelines and hospital telephone numbers.

No phone call has been received from foreigners so far, it said.

A Pakistani and two Australians had been diagnosed with the coronavirus as of Wednesday afternoon in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Guangzhou also released a public letter and multilingual language service hotlines for foreigners to get answers.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a telephone call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian that China has made the lives and health of both Chinese people and foreigners its top priority in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

That priority has been made clear to surrounding cities in Hubei, authorities said.

According to Zhang Shixi, vice-director of the Dongli district health committee in Tianjin, the foreign travelers on the flight from Malaysia are under strict observation and are being provided with high-level medical services. So far, no other passengers have developed fevers, Zhang said.

The hotel is receiving regular sterilizations, and the district is providing water, food, cleaning and living supplies, and all trash is being disposed of carefully, Zhang said.

By Yang Cheng in Tianjin

yangcheng@chinadaily.com.cn