New Delhi, Feb. 18 (PTI): Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong on Tuesday asserted that China has put in place multi-level control and prevention mechanisms and will win the battle against coronavirus.
The envoy said China has allocated RMB 80 billion to contain the disease and the government has sufficient resources and policy tools to cope with economic fluctuations following the epidemic.
He said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic, is coming down.
"China has full confidence that it will win the battle against coronavirus epidemic," he told reporters.
He added that the outbreak has not been able to impact the strong fundamentals of China's strong economy.
The COVID-19 virus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan late last year, has spread to more than 72,000 people and killed 1,900 in China.
The six Indians infected with the novel coronavirus on board the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess off the Japanese coast were responding well to the treatment, the Indian embassy in Tokyo said on Tuesday even as 88 new cases of the deadly disease were reported on the vessel, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 542.
A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the ship that arrived at the Japanese coast earlier this month.
The Japanese government on Tuesday said that final testing to detect positive cases of the COVID-19 have completed.
Eighty eight more people tested positive for the disease, taking the number of those infected on the ship to 542.
The ship was quarantined after a passenger who de-boarded last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the COVID-19 on the ship.
"Till 1800 (Japan Standard Time) today, no new #COVID-19 positive cases confirmed on #DiamondPrincess since yesterday," the Indian embassy tweeted.
"All six Indian crew members already receiving treatment for COVID 19 are responding well to the treatment and their conditions are improving," it said.
The embassy said it is coordinating with the Japanese government and ship management company for health and welfare of all Indian nationals on board.
India will send a C-17 military aircraft to Wuhan on February 20 to evacuate more Indians from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city and also provide medical supplies to China, military sources said on Tuesday.
The C-17 Globemaster, the biggest military aircraft in the Air Force, will carry a large consignment of medical supplies to China and bring back more Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, the sources told PTI.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the government till now has evacuated 640 Indians from China by sending to Air India planes.