Shanghai’s advice for Chinese in Hungary

A video lecture about the coronavirus pandemic was delivered on Monday by a Shanghai disease prevention and control expert to overseas Chinese and Chinese students in Hungary.

According to shine.cn, the lecture was organized by the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, Shanghai Health Commission and the Embassy of China in Hungary.

Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Duan Jielong said there have been 447 confirmed cases and 15 deaths in Hungary. He said the Hungarian government had responded swiftly to order a state of emergency, with restaurants, entertainment venues and other public places closed. But normal work is going on.

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“After the virus broke out in Hungary, the Chinese community, including Chinese students, actively organized events to learn about the virus and protection measures and also joined local people in preventing spread of the virus,” he said.

“There are over 40,000 Chinese Hungarians, some 3,000 Chinese students and 400 to 500 employees of Chinese enterprises. By now, none of them has been found with an infection.

“We are thankful for the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention to deliver this speech to share professional knowledge and experience in coronavirus prevention to us as the pandemic is developing here,” he added.

Sun Xiaodong, deputy director of the Shanghai center, shared Shanghai’s experience in fighting COVID-19 and the situation in the city with the Chinese community in Hungary.

He stressed the importance of avoiding gatherings, wearing masks and washing hands regularly.

He said 70 to 80 percent of the 339 local cases in Shanghai were infected in gatherings of families, colleagues and friends.

He said that timely strict measures and enforcement are key to controlling the disease and said it was good to hear the Hungarian government had taken measures against the virus.

After his lecture, he answered questions raised by the online listeners.

Q: Many Hungarians are playing sports outdoors and children are also playing in parks, where there are mosquitoes and insects. Is it OK to have such outdoor activities? Will mosquitoes and insects transmit the novel coronavirus? And is it true that the virus can spread by aerosol transmission? How can we protect ourselves?

A: There’s no evidence that mosquitoes or insects transmit the novel coronavirus. Neither is there sufficient evidence for aerosol transmission.

Currently we only found that it can be transmitted via droplets among people within 1 meter without protective measures.

As long as you keep 1 to 2 meters away from others, you can have exercises or take a walk outdoors, even without a mask.

But central air-conditioning systems should be turned off inside buildings, and it’s also important to open windows for ventilation at least once an hour.

Q: How to protect ourselves when someone in the same apartment building is infected?

A: In Shanghai, the apartment building will be disinfected thoroughly if a resident is confirmed with an infection, and family members, as close contacts, will all be sent to designated places for quarantine and medical observation.

Other residents in the building should wear masks when going out and wash their hands after returning.

Q: How long can a mask be used?