Shanghai experts support Sao Paulo in COVID-19 fight

Top health experts in Shanghai stressed the importance of comprehensive measures, including wearing masks, in curbing the spread of COVID-19 during an online conference with counterparts in Brazil on Monday evening.

The meeting was organized by the Consulate General of China in Sao Paulo, the State of Sao Paulo and the City of Sao Paulo, the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office and the Shanghai Health Commission.

Medical specialists including Dr Lu Hongzhou, Party secretary of Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center; and Dr Shen Yinzhong, director of Department of Medical Administration, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center; shared information on prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus with peers from 13 hospitals in Sao Paulo.

During the meeting, a participant from Sao Paulo asked if it’s necessary to wear masks outside on the streets, since in the eyes of many Brazilians, masks should be reserved only for the sick.

“It’s recommended for everyone to wear masks on the streets, especially in confined spaces, as the virus could be passed through asymptomatic patients,” said Lu.

Experts also spoke on the benefits of early screening, preliminary diagnosis and isolation of the disease.

“In China, we’ve been doing meticulous epidemiological investigation, tracking down close contacts of the infected. As for diagnosis at the early stages, fever, dry cough and acute respiratory symptoms are the most common presentations of the virus,” said Shen.

They also shared views on medical infrastructure, quarantine measures and the clinical treatment of the disease such as oxygen therapy and hydroxychloroquine, the currently most-favored clinical medicine to treat COVID-19 in Shanghai.

With an escalating pandemic situation, Brazil currently has 11,254 infected cases and 486 fatalities, about half of them occurring in Sao Paulo, the epicenter of the outbreak in the country. The state has been under a 15-day lockdown since March 24.

“We are so concerned about the outbreak that has just begun in Sao Paulo. Thorough advice from China is very much needed here. We are a community with a shared future and should fight the battle with mutual support,” said Chen Peijie, consul general of China in Sao Paulo.

“This virus is the common enemy of all mankind. As a sister city of Sao Paolo, Shanghai stands ready with our friends to maintain communication and strengthen cooperation in joint response to the pandemic,” said Bei Zhaojian, deputy director of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office.

“We are very grateful for the support from the Shanghai Health Commission and Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, and the professional knowledge from Shanghai experts to combat the disease. How Shanghai deals with this situation is of high significance,” said Ambassador Affonso Massot, executive secretary for international affairs of the State of Sao Paulo.

“We are sincerely thankful of the fundamental support, including medical equipment, from China. This is a fight in our doorsteps, involving every individual that calls for our solidarity and united efforts,” said Luiz Alvaro Salles Aguiar de Menezes, international affairs secretary of the city of Sao Paulo.