A second batch of medical equipment, donated by the Chinese government, has arrived in Dhaka from Kunming, to help Bangladesh tackle the Covid-19 pandemic better.
A special Chinese government aircraft that brought in the equipment landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 4:25pm on Thursday.
Confirming the matter to Dhaka Tribune, Dr Shahriar Sajjad, in-charge of the airport’s medical team, said the equipment included 10,000 testing kits, 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and 1,000 infrared thermometers.
Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad, the director general of health services directorate, received the medical supplies from Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming at the airport.
Afterwards, addressing a briefing there alongside Bangladesh officials, Li said Bangladesh, with the support from China and other countries, will be able to win the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Medical equipment from China | Dhaka Tribune"Be confident, Bangladesh. You will win," he said, assuring that if China can win, Bangladesh can also win this battle, reports UNB.
Responding to a question, Li said he had a discussion with the Bangladesh health minister on sending a team of medical experts here.
"Bangladesh and China are working on it," he said, emphasizing on continuing experience sharing and exchanges through online on issues related to Covid-19.
The ambassador said more medical logistics will be coming to Bangladesh from China on Saturday and Sunday. "This is just a beginning. Our support to Bangladesh will continue."
"Today is Independence Day in Bangladesh. I'm very happy go handover the medical supplies on such a special day," he said.
Meanwhile, two more special flights from China will also bring in more medical supplies, donated by the Jack Ma Foundation, in Dhaka.
The first flight will fly from Changsha on Saturday and will contain 30,000 coronavirus testing reagents. The second one 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.
These two special flights will land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh Ambassador to China Mahbub Uz Zaman told UNB on Wednesday.
Helping the friends in need
Ambassador Li Jiming on Thursday also recalled Bangladesh's support with the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when China received medical logistics from Bangladesh for Wuhan, the epicentre of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "We are doing something in return."
Photo: CourtesyProf Abul Kalam said Bangladesh, which has so far recorded five Covid-19 deaths and total 44 cases, will utilize China’s experience as they have become successful in dealing with coronavirus.
In the face of this unprecedented global pandemic, China reiterated its strong commitment to helping friends in need and building a community of shared future for mankind. "We are together," said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said the government was working to have adequate stock of medical logistics to deal with the situation here.
"We need it. We need to have enough stock," he said, adding that the government was also allowing private companies to import testing kits and other medical logistics.
China recently announced its decision to donate emergency medical supplies, including a large number of test kits, to Bangladesh to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, which started from Wuhan in late December last year.
This Chinese Emergency Humanitarian Aid Project includes coronavirus test kits for 10,000 people, 15,000 medical N95 masks, 10,000 medical protective clothing, and 1,000 infrared thermometers.
Earlier, 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, by promising to donate emergency supplies, including masks, test kits, protective suits, plus ventilators and thermometers.
The other nations are – Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Local companies in Bangladesh are also producing PPE and masks to address the needs.
