Health expert suggests taking more protein

Protein intake is key to strengthening the immune system and developing antibodies against the coronavirus, according to local medical expert Zhang Wenhong.

Zhang, director of Department of Infectious Disease at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University and head of Shanghai COVIED-19 treatment team, had been invited by the Chinese Embassy in India to share views on the pandemic, with the support from Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office and Shanghai Health Commission.

“The pandemic will turn into a long-term normalcy, so each country should be prepared for a protracted battle and most importantly, learn how to protect themselves,” he said.

India, which has a high population density and poor health conditions in some areas, has reported 19,984 confirmed cases and 640 fatalities so far.

Zhang said Chinese citizens should take more precautions rather than focus on confirmed numbers, as India’s situation is hard to predict because of its limited testing.

He said the positive antibody rate is under 10 percent worldwide, and there was no evidence of a better immune system among Indians.

Based on his observation of imported cases in Shanghai, young people with better nutrition tended to generate more antibodies than those with poor health habits.

“Food such as milk and eggs can maintain the serum-protein at a good level, which is essential to create antibodies against the coronavirus,” he said.

Zhang said most European countries and the US had reached their daily infection peak, indicating that the global pandemic is gradually under control but hard to eliminate.

“With global cases reaching 2 million, the virus is more likely to break out again in November than disappear in summer the way SARS did,” he said.

Sun Weidong, China’s ambassador to India, said there are around 3,100 Chinese citizens in India, with 240 students among them in different cities. Since the country’s lockdown last month, the embassy had delivered health kits to students with the help of local Chinese companies.

“We created contact groups for students, parents and the embassy to deal with emergencies. Every Chinese citizen in India is free to contact us whenever they are in need,” Sun said.