A Chinese medical team of experts comprising doctors, nurses, and technicians is on its way to Bangladesh to help local healthcare professionals combat the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming confirmed the matter, reports BSS.
He disclosed this information in a message marking the Muslims’ month of fasting, Ramadan.
The message also revealed that the China-Bangladesh Friendship International Exhibition Centre in Dhaka, fully funded by China, would be turned into a makeshift hospital for the Covid-19 patients.
The envoy said China will continue to work closely with Bangladesh and other countries in the fight against the pandemic for a better and shared future.
“Today, at this crucial juncture, China is firmly standing by Bangladesh and other Muslim countries to combat the pandemic,” he said, adding that Chinese medical equipment and expert teams have already been sent to Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Pakistan, and other Muslim countries in Africa.
He recalled with immense gratefulness the timely and invaluable support, both material and spiritual, extended by the government and the people of Bangladesh to China when the epidemic first hit his own country.
From China’s part, they started offering assistance to Bangladesh by sending the very first batch of 500 fast test kits as early as February 22, of which China was also in bad need at that time, Jiming said.
Since then, China has so far donated medical equipment and materials, including detection kits and tubes, ventilators, masks, thermometers, goggles, and personal protective equipment (PPE), added the ambassador.
Chinese companies and charity groups like the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation have also contributed a huge number of medical equipment and materials to Bangladesh, he further informed.
Apart from that, the Chinese companies undertaking mega projects continue to work here despite all the difficulties and frustrations, while tons of rice was given for the displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar, he added.
Extending his greetings to all Muslims, including the ones in Bangladesh, the envoy said Ramadan stands as a month of training for the believers of Islam on how to lead their lives in other months of the year with peace, compassion, and harmony.
“As a dear member of a proud nation of 56 ethnic groups with different faiths living in harmony, China’s vast Muslim community, with a population of 30 million, too has started observing Ramadan,” Jiming said.
Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping, the envoy said China firmly believes that only with solidarity and cooperation can the international community prevail over the epidemic and protect humanity’s common home.
The deadly coronavirus has rapidly covered the globe, spread suffering, disrupted billions of lives and endangered the global economy.
In Bangladesh, 5,416 people have tested positive for coronavirus and there have been 145 recorded deaths from coronavirus infection so far.
First reported in China’s Wuhan city, coronavirus has claimed more than 203,000 lives and infected more than 2,940,000 people globally, according to Worldometer.
