
ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Working closely with China in terms of sharing information on combating COVID-19 has enabled the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to prepare better for the pandemic, a senior African official said Wednesday.
"China responded quite quickly (to the outbreak) and made available the full genomic sequence of the coronavirus," Ahmed Ogwell, deputy director of the Africa CDC, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
The availability of COVID-19 genomic sequence helped the global community prepare in advance in the early stages of the outbreak, he said.
"So making that available was a very, very good step and in that way China did very well," he said.
In addition to the support from the Chinese government, Ogwell noted that Chinese enterprises and business leaders have also provided the African continent with products that were "key in ensuring that we responded very quickly at the beginning of the pandemic."
He also noted that the Africa CDC has been having discussions with Chinese developers of COVID-19 vaccine.
"We are looking forward to them (discussions) being fruitful so that we can be able to access the two vaccine candidates that are under advanced trial in China and elsewhere," he said.
Meanwhile, Ogwell also emphasized that the African continent and the global community must act together in face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 3,107,979, according to the latest figures from the Africa CDC.
The death toll related to the pandemic has reached 74,444, and a total of 2,538,888 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the agency said.
Fire brigade in Shanghai holds group wedding
Tourists enjoy ice sculptures in Datan Town, north China
Sunset scenery of Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an
Tourists have fun at scenic spot in Nanlong Town, NW China
Harbin attracts tourists by making best use of ice in winter
In pics: FIS Alpine Ski Women's World Cup Slalom
Black-necked cranes rest at reservoir in Lhunzhub County, Lhasa
China's FAST telescope will be available to foreign scientists in April
"She power" plays indispensable role in poverty alleviation
Top 10 world news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 China news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 media buzzwords of 2020
Year-ender:10 major tourism stories of 2020
No interference in Venezuelan issues
Biz prepares for trade spat
Broadcasting Continent
Australia wins Chinese CEOs as US loses