The voices for rationality have been passed on in the international community by
international organizations, foreign governments, scholars and media outlets to inform
the public what’s going on and maintain social stability amid the recent outbreak of
the novel coronavirus that attracted high attention.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Feb. 4 gave high credit to China’s efforts
in combating the novel coronavirus, calling for international solidarity and an end to
any ill-founded discrimination of the outbreak’s victims.
China has mobilized enormous resources and enormous capacity to respond, and the
UN has full recognition of that effort, the UN chief noted.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also warned of the dangers
posed by “spreading rumors and misinformation”. He believes that countries should
clarify misinformation and keep sharing information with the WHO, and defeat this
outbreak by working together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation.
At the press conference held by the WHO Tuesday, February 4, the health
organization launched an information platform of epidemic diseases which, according
to WHO Director of Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness Sylvie Briand, provides a
new channel for enterprises, media and the public to acquire epidemic information.
Italian Ministry of Health announced on the same day that it has reached an
agreement with Twitter to contain the fake news about the novel coronavirus outbreak
on the social media platform. The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, noted that
they must properly mange the spreading of information and combat fake news.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the government will release
information as soon as it can, and advised people to verify relevant information with
public channels such as the government’s page on social media and mainstream
media.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on pressmen and mainstream media to
report the epidemic based on truth and contain the misinformation on social media
platforms. In recent days, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health has released statements,
opened lectures and held press conferences to spread relevant knowledge and raise the
public’s capability of identifying information.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set up a crisis operation center to control the
epidemic information about the tourism industry, so as to make immediate response
and guide the public.
Mikhail Varshavski, known as “Doctor Mike” on U.S. social media, has millions of
followers. He recently made a video titled The Truths About Novel Coronavirus,
calling on people to look for reputable organizations to get information from. “Alert,
but not anxious,” he says in the video. So far, the video has been watched 4.8 million
times.
Harvard Health Publishing under Harvard Medical School recently published articles
on social media to inform the public about the novel coronavirus and remind them of
the importance of getting reliable information. In one of the articles, Dr. Todd Ellerin
introduced in detail the symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection – something that
causes the most public concern.
“In the U.S., the average person is at extremely low risk of catching this novel
coronavirus. This winter, in fact, we are much more likely to get influenza B — the
flu — than any other virus,” Ellerin said in the article.
Marc Van Ranst, dean of the School of Microbiology, Immunology and
Transplantation at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium told People’s Daily
that comprehensive and precise information helps global scientists make correct
judgement over the epidemic and contribute proper strategies. Chinese scientists have
made huge contribution by sharing the sequencing of the novel coronavirus with the
international society, he said.
The website of the American National Public Radio noted that because of poor
survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread
from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at
ambient temperatures.
News site VOX made a special coverage for the novel coronavirus and denied that the
outbreak would turn into a global epidemic, citing WHO information. It gave a high
recognition on China’s quick response to the outbreak.
The internet is spammed by misinformation, much of which is unsupported and in
lack of scientific ground, said Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics, Department of
Population Health at Langone Medical Center, New York University. Media and
scholars play a vital role under such circumstances, the professor noted, adding that
social media shall identify false information, and scholars should also share science-
based views to better help people judge the situation.
