Jim O'Neill, the former Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs, said he is thankful that the novel coronavirus erupted in China and not somewhere like India. He also appreciated China’s response to the crisis by immediately shutting its shores, media reported.
The economist said to CNBC: "Thank God this didn’t start in somewhere like India, because there’s absolutely no way that the quality of Indian governance could move to react in the way that the Chinese have done, that’s the good side of the Chinese model, and I think you could probably say the same about Brazil too.”
He added that once China realizes the scale of any crisis, it deals with it promptly and effectively, compared to other places.
Twitter reacts
Jim’s comment on India created a buzz on microblogging site Twitter, where people condemned Jim for his remark on the country.
Samir Saran, President of Observer Research Foundation, tweeted: “This is true. I landed at Delhi Airport last night, which was remarkably well prepared and a sharp relief from Dubai and JFK where I was arriving from.”
Supporting Saran’s view, another user (Shabarish Sesh) replied: “I did JFK-LHR-MUM...Mumbai was the best prepared. All staff wearing gloves, masks, Purells everywhere and screening. Too good. Feel the safest here.”
Another Twitter user (Dibyendu) commented: “Sir...first take care of your health minister, who got affected by this virus, then come and give your opinion to others.”
World leaders support India
The World Health Organization also commended China for its quick response to the novel coronavirus. While some experts including President Trump’s national security advisor criticized China for ignoring the alarm bells earlier.
Zhong Nanshan, a leading epidemiologist who was one of the experts dispatched by the government to Wuhan, said to CNBC that the three major coronavirus-related epidemics in the 21st century—SARS, MERS, and COVID-19— had offered a lesson that countries should act quickly to prevent them from spreading further.
Situation in India
India has been facing a surge in coronavirus infections, with more than 60 cases registered so far with almost 15 of being them tourists from Italy. India reported 10 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday. The country has prohibited entry of international cruise ships till March 13. However, as per state health officials, the number of confirmed cases may be up to 65.
The Centre has also invoked the Epidemic Act 1897 and the Disaster Management Act 2005 to contain the epidemic.
The situation could have been worse if coronavirus had hit India in its early stage, due to lack of medical facilities to deal with an epidemic.
Last year in June 2019, a mysterious outbreak gripped India's Bihar. The outbreak claimed more than 150 lives of children. The doctors later found the outbreak to be the case of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) that happens mainly due to hypoglycemia. In subsequent months, more cases and deaths were reported.