Chinese medical team arrives in Pakistan to help fight COVID-19

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (R front) welcomes Chinese medical team at the Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, March 28, 2020. An 8-member medical expert team organized by the Chinese government arrived here on Saturday to help Pakistan fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua/Liu Tian)

ISLAMABAD -- An 8-member medical expert team organized by the Chinese government arrived here on March 28 to help Pakistan fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the Chinese medical team at the Islamabad International Airport and thanked them for coming to Pakistan to help the country overcome the disease.

"I would like to thank the Chinese people, and the Chinese government...for going out of the way to support Pakistan and our effort to fight the COVID-19," he said.

"We have learned from you. We have stood by you, and you're standing with us. So this (COVID-19) challenge has brought the peoples of China and Pakistan even closer. In this challenging time, the (Pakistani) people expected China to come forth and China has lived up to their expectations," the foreign minister told Xinhua.

The team, organized by China's National Health Commission, consists of experts selected by the health commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and aims to provide consultations of pandemic control, patients treatment and laboratory works and guide and train Pakistani medical staff.

Head of the medical team Ma Minghui told Xinhua that the team will also share the Chinese experiences on coronavirus control with their Pakistani counterparts.

The medical team also brought medical assistance including over 110,000 face masks, 5,000 protection suits, 12 ventilators and other medicines to Pakistan.

The team will stay in Pakistan for around two weeks and will also visit Punjab and Sindh provinces.