China preparing to send medical experts to help Pakistan fight COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Chinese government, upon the request of its Pakistan counterparts, has started preparations for sending a team of medical experts to Pakistan to fight Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

The Vice Minister of China’s National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, made the announcement in Beijing in a press conference on March 26. He made these remarks while briefing media on China's cooperation with the international community in fighting the COVID-19. 

He revealed that China has immediately shared the COVID-19 related knowledge, prevention and control plan, and diagnosis and treatment plan with Pakistan since the virus outbreak in Pakistan. 

China also has introduced its experience in preventing, controlling, diagnosing and treating COVID-19 and other issues to Pakistan via video conference. 

At the press conference, Deng Boqing, Vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, added that China would like to share prevention and control experience with Pakistan in response to the COVID-19 challenge. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, China has provided Pakistan four batches of medical supplies, including detection reagents, medical protective gowns, N95 face masks, surgical face masks and breathing machines. 

Moving forward, China is preparing to provide Pakistan with more urgently needed and scarce medical supplies and equipment. In addition, China will also assist Pakistan in building a makeshift hospital for isolation. 

When attending the press conference, Luo Zhaohui, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, disclosed that China has sent seven batches of medical experts groups to five countries (Iran, Iraq, Italy, Serbia and Cambodia) since sending the first group to Iran in February 27. It may be noted Luo Zhaohui had also served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan. 

“Each and every medical experts group, who brave the coronavirus to rescue people, has won warm welcome from the local governments and peoples,” Luo said. 

According to the reports published in the Chinese media, The medical rescue team to be sent to Pakistan will be established by medical workers in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region while according to the earlier practices that each province is responsible for organizing a medical aid team.  Xinjiang has donated a batch of medical supplies to Pakistan, which arrived in the country on March 20. 

Besides government, the Chinese companies have been proactively helping Pakistan fight against the epidemic. On March 25, the first batch of relief materials donated by China’s Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation arrived at Karachi. 

The two Foundations will send the second and third batches of relief materials to Pakistan within a week, according to the Consulate-General of China in Karachi. 

“At the non-government level, enterprise and civil societies have joined one after another in the relay race of making donations to Pakistan,” Li Bijian, Consul General of China in Karachi, said.  

COVID-19 has been spreading rapid in Pakistan since the first two confirmed cases were reported on February 26. As of the morning of March 26, Pakistan has seen 1,102 confirmed cases with eight deaths while 21 patients were cured and discharged from hospital.