The outbreak of the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus started in Wuhan in January of 2020, due to which Hubei province has activated the first-level public health emergency response. CUG has been devoting every effort to stop the virus from spreading under the leadership of the central and local government.
Comprehensive prevention and control under the unified leadership
CUG had a leadership meeting on the epidemic prevention and control and emergency response on January 22.The meeting focused on establishment of epidemic prevention and control system, passed emergency response plan, definite objectives and principles, as well as specified duties and divisions of work. The meeting decided to organize a working group responsible for performing various tasks under the principles of early detection, early reporting, early isolation, and early treatment.
United strength to fight against the epidemic
During the Spring Festival, HUANG Xiaomei, Secretary of the Party Committee of CUG, and WANG Yanxin, President of CUG, inspected the epidemic prevention and control and sent wishes for the New Year when they visited the faculty and staff members who were still at their posts respectively.
To guarantee the safe environment of the campus and the health of teachers and students, CUG hospital has improved the procedures of reception in the outpatient department, set up a fever clinic on the first floor, and assigned specific doctors receive fever patients. At the same time, CUG hospital trains frontline medical personnel, implements the precautions of medical personnel, pays close attention to the changes of the epidemic, grasps and reports the pre-examination and the outpatient treatment of fever in time, and spares no effort to prevent and control the epidemic and respond to emergencies.
All staff members of the Security Department gave up their vacations and devoted themselves to the epidemic prevention and control on campus. They closed some entrances to minimize the disease spread.
Over 100 staff members of the Department of Logistics and Support stick to their posts at the expense of family reunions to provide services for the teachers and students staying at CUG.
Protection for students with sense of responsibility
According to CUG’s work plan of the epidemic prevention and control, the Student Mental Health Education center has taken important measures to offer psychological “protective suits”, including letters to students staying at CUG to strengthen psychological prevention, network services to provide psychological support, timely push notifications on official platforms and a professional team to deal with the epidemic in a comprehensive way, and psychological intervention related to the epidemic.
Faced with the epidemic, instructors stick to the bottom line of students’ safety. They popularize the use of e-book resources among students via QQ groups and instruct students to have online job interviews so as to minimize the impact of the epidemic on students’ employment. They also help ease students’ anxiety and encourage students to share New Year’s greetings and their daily life of the winter vacation through WeChat Moments. Some instructors insist on guarding the safety of students staying at CUG over a long distance and acts as online “telephone operators” for students at home, even if they are still in self-isolation. The instructors, together with their students, keep in mind the original aspiration and mission to build the “Great Wall of Epidemic Prevention and Control” with confidence, high morale, careful efforts.
Warmth of home for international students
437 international students are staying at CUG during this winter vacation. The International Education College started prevention and control immediately after the outbreak of the epidemic. The International Education College cares about international students through paying attention to their personal health, strengthening the sanitary control of their residence hall, persuading international students to keep regular hours, etc. The International Education College also promotes health education of virus prevention through its WeChat official account. In terms of life service, the International Education College purchased a batch of vegetables that could be stored for long and distributed them to the students.
Love from alumni worldwide and friends from all walks of life
In the epidemic prevention and control, we are accompanied by the alumni and friends from all walks of life who care about CUG and its teachers and students. They donated money, goods, and materials to overcome difficulties together, giving support and confidence to CUG’s fight against the epidemic.
Branches of the Alumni Associationin China, USA, Canada,Vietnam and other countries tried everything to purchase medical supplies like masks, goggles, protective suits, and disinfectant; branches of the Alumni Association including Hebei, Qinghai, Shandong, Guangxi, Fujian, Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Lishui, and so on raised money for the epidemic prevention and control. Countless alumni and friends from all walks of life donated to CUG anonymously or in the name of couples, employers, associations and so on, passing on love and warmth to CUG.
Encouragement from internationalfriends for CUG’s fight against the epidemic
The recent epidemic has aroused great concern at home and abroad. Foreign universities, academic institutions, and three Confucius Institutes encourage CUG’s fight against the epidemic in various ways. Many leaders and experts of foreign universities and academic institutions expressed their hope to help CUG at their best, including Prof. Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, President of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Prof. Feridun Hamdullahpur, President of the University of Waterloo, Prof. Mark Zupan, President of Alfred University, Prof. Ronald Machtley, President of Bryant University, Associate Professor YANG Hong, Vice President of Bryant University, Prof. Luigi Dei, President of the University of the Florence, Prof. Michael Gosz, Vice President of Illinois Institute of Technology, Prof. WANG Jun, Vice President of the University of California, Riverside, Prof. IainMartin, Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University, Dr. Susan Hubbard, Director of the Earth Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Ratchford, Director of the Idaho Geological Survey, Prof. Ashok J. Gadgil from the University of California, Berkeley, Prof. Martin O. Saar from the ETH Zurich, Prof. Javier Quirrell from the Spanish National Research Council, Dr. ZHANG Yan, China Director of the QS Intelligence Unit, and Prof. David Kreamer, Vice President of the International Association of Hydrogeologistsand other international friends.
They all have confidence in our fight against the epidemic, just like Prof. Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht wrote, “It is the Year of the Rat, a symbol of something new, of fresh strength and creativity. And with new power, it should be possible to defeat the coronavirus as well!”, and Prof.Michael Gosz wrote, “Your dedication and perseverance are exemplary. Please know that your colleagues from Illinois Institute of Technology pay their sincerest respects to you. I hope and believe that all teachers, students and your family members will be able to overcome the present difficulties and that new solutions, opportunities, and chapters will soon open up in the New Year.”
Mark Zupan, President of Alfred University, wrote, “During this time of challenge, especially for the City of Wuhan and your University, I wanted to let you know that we are thinking of you and hoping that the coronavirus outbreak is soon addressed. If there are any other ways that we might be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” Iain Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University, wrote, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad and difficult time. We hope the virus can be effectively contained and treated and the situation will improve very soon. We are ready to provide any support you may require and are committed to works with scientists in addressing these global challenges in the long run.” After seeing the call of CUG hospital for medical supplies to fight against the epidemic, the teachers and volunteers of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University decided to buy local medical supplies like surgical masks and gloves and send them to CUG. They cheer for Wuhan and China through their actions.
Students in the Confucius Institute at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo filmed a video named “Cheer for China”, speaking out their confidence that China would overcome the crisis and their hope that the patients would recover soon.
