China is sharing the experience of using traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients with foreign countries, such as Italy, as clinical observation shows that TCM has been effective on 90 percent of more than 74,000 Chinese COVID-19 patients whose treatment involved TCM.
Chinese medicine experts stressed TCM's significant role in the battle against the epidemic at a press conference on Monday, noting that more than 90 percent of all coronavirus patients in China used TCM during their treatment, including 61,000 in Wuhan, the city hit hardest by the epidemic.
TCM is effective in alleviating symptoms and preventing mild cases from falling into a critical condition, said Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, at the press conference, noting that among more than 10,000 patients in Wuhan's makeshift hospitals who took TCM treatment, only 2-5 percent of them deteriorated to the severe stage.
China has been sending out TCM products, acupuncture needles, and Chinese medicine instruments to other countries in need to aid their battles against the coronavirus.
More than 100,000 boxes of TCM have been sent to Italy, with more to be potentially shipped there in the near future.
Professional TCM doctors have also provided technical support and shared their experience in applying TCM in the treatment of coronavirus patients in video conferences, while some others were sent to Italy, Cambodia and other countries to support anti-epidemic efforts.
