China, Peru call for joint fight against virus

By WEN ZONGDUO | China Daily | Updated: 2020-04-13 09:22

Women wait outside a market after the Peruvian government limited men and women to alternate days for leaving their homes, in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19, in Lima, Peru, April 7, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

The world's fight against the coronavirus pandemic can project a comprehensive global strategy for public health, says Luis Villanueva Carbajal, secretary-general of the Peruvian Communist Party.

Echoing calls of China's President Xi Jinping, he said international unity and collaboration are of paramount in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We agree with Secretary-general Xi that international solidarity is the main instrument to defeat COVID-19 worldwide," Villanueva told China Daily.

The fight against COVID-19 should also serve as the foundation stone for a more comprehensive global strategy for public health.

Villanueva also backed China's initiative for a global community of shared public health for mankind.

"The first steps in collaboration to build this global public health community must be solidarity and a sharing of expertise, the release of drug patents and scientific information," he said.

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra announced the country's first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 6. The patient, 25, had returned from a visit to Spain, France and the Czech Republic. Vizcarra activated security protocols then and declared a national emergency in mid March.

The COVID-19 epidemic in the country has worsened in recent weeks, with 2,954 people becoming infected and 107 of them dying by April 9, the World Health Organization said. In the days before April 10 the number of new confirmed cases rose each day, by 535 on April 7, 280 on April 8 and 393 on April 9.

As with other developing nations, equipment and specialist knowledge are in dire need in Peru.

"Peru needs not only more equipment for rapid tests, molecular tests and respirators, but also teams of specialized doctors who can lend their expertise in fighting COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan," Villanueva said.

A Chinese tourist from Hong Kong with heart problems was among those infected with COVID-19 died in the city of Cuzco, southeastern Peru, on March 27.

Sixty-five Hong Kong residents returned to Hong Kong on April 5 by a chartered flight arranged by the Chinese embassy in Peru and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.