China has sent 10,000 testing kits, 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1,000 infrared thermometers to Bangladesh to help fight coronavirus. This is the second batch of Chinese supply to Bangladesh for the coronavirus outbreak. China earlier in February handed over 500 testing kits as the first batch of medical aid to Bangladesh to face the growing crisis.
The virus first emerged from China’s Wuhan city. During the outbreak, Bangladesh last month sent 1 million hand gloves, 500,000 facemasks, 150,000 caps, 100,000 hand sanitizers, 50,000 shoe-covers and 8,000 gowns to China. On Thursday, a special aircraft of the Chinese government with the medical logistics arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via Kunming.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming and Bangladesh government officials were present at the airport. China earlier reiterated its strong commitment to helping friends in need and building a community of shared future for mankind. “We are together,” the embassy said.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen also thanked China for the support. He said on Sunday that the government is working to have adequate stock of medical logistics to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, Jack Ma, co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, announced to help Bangladesh and some other Asian nations contain the spread of coronavirus.
A senior official at the foreign ministry said two special flights from China will soon arrive in Dhaka with the donated medical supplies from Jack Ma Foundation. The first flight will fly from Changsha on March 28 and will contain 30,000 coronavirus testing reagents.
The second flight will take off from Ningbo on the same day and will contain 300,000 masks, including 30,000 N95 medical masks and 270,000 single-use surgical masks. Bangladesh announced its first coronavirus cases on March 8. So far, the government has detected 44 cases. Of them, five died.
