A 10-member team of Chinese medical experts has arrived in Dhaka with their firsthand experience of treating coronavirus patients to help Bangladesh fight the pandemic.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming welcomed them at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon arrival on Monday.
They also brought some medical gears with them. The foreign minister thanked the Chinese team and said all states in the world have to work together through cooperation and partnership.
“Economic fallout caused by the pandemic is so high. A new world is being formed from this pandemic. And to build the new world well, cooperation and partnership is much needed,” he said.
“We hope our relationship between our two countries will be much deeper and we will be able to solve multiple problems jointly.”
The virus first emerged in China’s Wuhan province in December. Bangladesh first reported the cases on March 8 and the World Health Organisation declared the virus pandemic on March 11.
So far, 930 people died of the disease and 68,504 people have been confirmed infected by the virus. Some 14,507 patients have so far recovered.
The Chinese embassy said the team members have already discussed and studied the “appropriate measures and advice for Bangladeshi people”.
It shows one of the “reflections of Chinese President Xi Jinping's assurance to the reality”.
The team is organised by the National Health Commission and consists of 10 respiratory physicians selected by the Hainan Provincial Health Commission.
In their two weeks stay in Bangladesh, the experts will visit designated hospitals, quarantine centers, and testing centers, discuss on the epidemics with Bangladeshi counterparts, and make calibrated propositions for containment and treatment.
Ambassador Li Jiming said the arrival of the team was based on the phone talk between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May 20.
“This conversation is of high significance as it laid down the guidelines to advance our joint response in curbing the coronavirus as well as strengthening our strategic partnership of cooperation in a post-COVID-19 era,” he said.
During the conversation, President Xi also emphasised that China was ready to help where it can in light of the actual needs of Bangladesh, including sending a medical expert team to Bangladesh. And it is this very team that we are gathering here today to welcome.
“As a pair of true and time-honored friends, China and Bangladesh have been standing in strong solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19,” the ambassador said.
“The Chinese side remains immensely grateful to the timely and invaluable support extended by the government and the people of Bangladesh, both materially and spiritually, when the epidemic first hit China.”
Earlier in February, he said Prime Minister Hasina wrote a ‘generous’ letter to President Xi in an expression of sympathy and support to China, where she assured him: “the people and the government of Bangladesh are with the friendly people and the government of China to address the crisis”.
“And it is in the same spirit we are sending our team of medical experts to lend a helping hand to a friend,” he said.
“I believe it is the first medical team sent by the government of any foreign country to Bangladesh after the COVID-19 outbreak, consisting of 10 senior Chinese medical experts of various specialties relevant to treating the covid-19 patients.
“In the next 2 weeks, they will pay field visits in different hospitals and medical facilities, conduct in-depth clinical discussions with Bangladesh health officials and professionals, share experiences, and provide guiding technical advices on covid-19 treatment and control,” he said.
The medical team marks another step further in China’s all-out support to Bangladesh.
Starting from February, China has provided Bangladesh with over 3.4 million surgical and N-95 masks, over 110,000 sets of personal protective equipment, and a large number of test kits, thermometers, ventilators, and sanitizers, to meet the most urgent needs of Bangladesh to contain COVID-19.
The Chinese Embassy has been actively engaged with the government and health experts of Bangladesh in experience sharing and information exchange, the ambassador said.
“A pandemic such as COVID-19 again shows us that in today’s world no country could stand alone in a global crisis. All must work together, and together we will success.
“Mutual understanding and support between China and Bangladesh since the onset of the pandemic has shown the pragmatic cooperation of the two countries.
“With such a close partnership and strong belief, both countries will surely prevail over the pandemic in the short future,” said the ambassador.
