ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said on Thursday that a Chinese team of medical experts was going to arrive in the country soon to assist local doctors with their battle against the coronavirus outbreak.
“China has helped Pakistan a great deal in our efforts to contain coronavirus,” noted Aisha Farooqui. “The medical team will also bring medical equipment from China to strengthen our capacity.”
She added that Beijing’s assistance to Pakistan to fight the pandemic included 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, 10,000 protective suits and $4 million to build a hospital.
“Xinjiang government has also provided 50,000 masks each to Islamabad Capital Territory as well as Sindh government,” she continued. “A considerable amount of donation from private sources from China is also arriving. Alibaba Foundation has donated 50,000 test kits and 500,000 face masks as well.”
PM @ImranKhanPTI inspected one of 15000 protective suits donated by a #Chinese company on Thursday for #Pakistani doctors & paramedics facing a shortage of emergency medical supplies while dealing with a surge in #COVID19 cases. pic.twitter.com/TxXYvrEcV0
— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) March 26, 2020
Pakistan has been struggling against the infectious virus ever since the first case of the respiratory illness was diagnosed in the country last month.
As confirmed COVID-19 cases began to mount, its officials also canceled a popular cricket contest and emphasized the necessity of social distancing and good hygiene practices.
More recently, the country’s provinces imposed lockdowns to prevent further spread of the virus and sealed some of the neighborhoods where significant number of cases were found.
According to Pakistan’s official portal, the national tally has moved past 1,100 coronavirus cases with eight reported fatalities.
Media reports also suggest that local doctors and paramedics have been treating patients suffering from the virus without enough protection and equipment as the country seeks more financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank to deal with the pandemic.