With a warning that life may not get back to normal in the UK for another six months in comparison other China is beginning to get back to slowly open up.
The Guardian
Daniel Falush, who lives and works in Shanghai, wrote in his column that as the west is in lockdown, China is slowly getting back to business.
He said: "When China shut down its economy at the end of January to try to control the coronavirus outbreak, it was a bold and terrifying experiment. No one had tried anything similar. It was unclear whether the virus’s spread could be curbed, let alone halted. It was also possible that, as a respiratory virus with highly variable symptoms, coronavirus was simply too transmissible and too difficult to detect for these measures to work. But work they did and now China is the first nation to enter into the next phase of the pandemic – attempting to reinstate everyday life against the backdrop of coronavirus."
He warned that until countries can control the outbreak, there is little chance of them rejoining the economic world.
He added: "Until a country has shown that it has brought transmission under control, normal economic life cannot resume. Tourists will not visit and international travel will not be permissible – meaning that, until they get coronavirus under control within their own borders, countries will not be able to again join the world community of freely trading nations. That community today seems to consist of China alone."
The Daily Mail
In his column Dominic Lawson suggests "the truth is that we still can't trust the figures put out by the Chinese government about the extent of the deaths from Covid-19 among its own citizens."
He added: "China has been proclaiming its own generosity in helping the rest of the world deal with what President Trump, with undeniable accuracy if not tact, now calls 'the Wuhan virus'.
"China has made much of the supplies of masks and testing equipment which its manufacturers have been delivering at pace and at a reasonable price to countries such as Spain and the Netherlands.
"What Beijing does not say is that, when the virus took hold of Wuhan, Chinese companies were ordered to buy up vast quantities of thermometers, surgical masks, hand sanitisers and antibacterial wipes from countries such as Turkey, Canada and Australia.
"It may be that China has got the better of this exchange."
The Independent
Harriet Sinclair in her column says the virus is a great equaliser – but says already some of us are more equal than.
She said: "While NHS staff were left begging for screening to allow them to get back to the vital work they do, Johnson joins the likes of Prince Charles, Camilla, and other members of the elite who appear able to snap their fingers and procure a test.
"Charles, we are told, was in Aberdeen and therefore met the criteria for coronavirus testing. Indeed, I’d wager His Royal Highness would have met the criteria for testing whether he was in Scotland or South Hackney. And while Johnson may repeat the message that “we’re all in this together” – his test results say otherwise."
The Daily Express
In his column Leo McKinstry said with the insidious virus is now putting key players out of action, plans must be made.
He said: "What the Government badly needs therefore is an accomplished figure to step into the breach, to help Boris's embattled administration as a co-ordinator.
"The obvious candidate for this role is Jeremy Hunt, the current chairman of the Health Select Committee.
"A former long-serving Cabinet minister, he would bring a natural authority to the position.
"Throughout the crisis, he has been a voice of constructiveness, using his knowledge of the NHS to press ministers for action.
"Yesterday [Sunday], he made a typically sensible intervention as he called for coronavirus testing regime to be "urgently" expanded."
Mr McKinstry added that Mr Hunt has all the right qualities for this special task.
He went on to say: "In the past he has been criticised for his lack of charisma, as when he and Boris Johnson fought for the Tory leadership last summer. The contest, ran one joke, was "the blond leading the bland". But in this dark hour for our nation, we do not need celebrity stardust."
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