China Global Television Network has released the footage of the first coronavirus patient to recover from the infection. The multi-platform media outlet released the footage late on Thursday. Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported on Wednesday that coronavirus patients had recovered in some parts of the country.
The patient who was cured and discharged is from Shanxi province. The footage released by CGTN shows a young man wearing a mask walking through a hospital corridor and then interacting with the media. The 23-year-old man had travelled to Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus epidemic, between January 12 and 15. He was hospitalised on January 20 after he developed a fever.
"It is the first time that this kind of thing happened to me. I didn't know how it would develop later. But I was fully confident of our nation and its medical level. Now I feel very well physically and also feel quite happy," the man said. He also said he was thankful for the medical support of the provincial government.
China's containment efforts may fail
This should come as great news as there is increasing fears that China's quarantine strategy is failing. One expert writing in the New York Times put it this way. "Global health experts are already cautioning other countries to prepare for China's containment efforts to fail. Part of the problem is that a quarantine of this size is inherently difficult to maintain."
Xinhua said earlier that two patients were discharged from hospitals in east China's Anhui Province on Wednesday. Another patient in southwest Chongqing Municipality also recovered. All the patients had worked or lived in Wuhan.
Coronavirus deaths are close to 200 already and thousands more are being infected every day. According to China's National Health Commission, the death toll as of late Wednesday was 170 while the number of infected patients rose to 7,711. A host of pharmaceutical companies are racing against time produce a vaccine for the virus.
Vaccine will take at least 3 months to arrive
The deadly virus that spread from the Wuhan meat market is apparently on the breakout path. While China focuses on containing the epidemic, companies around the world around the world have already designed the vaccine for the virus based on the genetic code supplied by the Chinese health authorities. However, human trials of the vaccine are not expected to start until after three months.
At present there is no treatment or vaccine for the deadly virus, which is designated as nCoV-2019. The contagion is similar to the earlier outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome, (MERS). The viruses that caused all these infection belong to the same to the same family of coronaviruses.
