Chinese doctors, plane carrying medical supplies arrive in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A Chinese medical team arrived in Islamabad today as the country continued to battle the coronavirus epidemic.

The doctors were received by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the airbase. 

The Chinese doctors will lend their medical expertise to their Pakistani counterparts as China is the only country that has successfully diminished the COVID-19 threat, a Foreign Office spokesperson had said.

So far, the Chinese government has provided 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, and 10,000 units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that the Chinese government has also provided $4 million to build a separate hospital for coronavirus patients.

The FO said that the Xinjiang government has separately provided 50,000 masks to the Sindh government while aid from private means in China has also been received.

This includes donations from the AliBaba Foundation and the JackMA Foundation, which have provided 50,000 testing kits and 500,000 masks to Pakistan.

China had also separately provided two tonnes of masks, tests kits, ventilators and PPEs worth Rs67 million to Pakistan, said the FO. 

Earlier, a third plane carrying assistance to Pakistan in the form of medical supplies from China arrived in Karachi on Saturday.

China-donated face masks, N-95 respirators, arrived in Pakistan: NDMA chairperson

The cargo plane carrying the goods landed at Jinnah International airport today, marking the third flight from China that has brought medical supplies. The flight, YG-9067, was sent by Chinese firm YTO Cargo.

A day earlier, China had sent a plane carrying medical supplies, including 56,000 testing kits, N-95 masks and other material, to Karachi.

On March 25, China had sent a plane carrying 450,000 face masks — including 50,000 N-95 masks — to the country.

The aid came as Pakistan reported more than 1,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 11 deaths on Friday.

Communist Party of China offers support to PTI govt

China’s Communist party established contact with PTI’s central committee leader Arshad Dad today. The Chinese party leaders offered complete assistance to the government in fight against the virus, said the ruling party in a statement.

According to the PTI press release, the communist party sent a letter of support to the ruling party, expressing solidarity with the Pakistani nation.

In the letter, the communist party said that China overcame the disease with united efforts and it is willing to share its expertise with Pakistan.