Prevention top priority for Pakistan to tackle COVID-19: Chinese expert

ISLAMABAD -- A Chinese medical expert said on April 1 that prevention work should be the top priority for Pakistan to cope with the increasingly severe COVID-19 epidemic in the country.

Ma Minghui, head of a medical expert team sent by the Chinese government to Pakistan, told Xinhua that since the eight-member team's arrival in Pakistan, they have emphasized the importance of prevention in the fight against the COVID-19.

"The Pakistani side starts to understand the significance of the prevention work and we are in the same page now regarding this point," said Ma.

"If the situation is getting worse, Pakistan's medical resources and system would face a huge challenge. Therefore, prevention should be the top priority so as to control the totality of the infected" and provide better treatment with limited medical resources, Ma said.

Ma and his colleagues on Wednesday visited Pak Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH) in Rawalpindi. The Chinese team shared their experiences on the disease diagnosis, suspected patients quarantine and treatment to critical patients.

The experts, who served in the frontline when the disease broke out in China, also gave their Pakistani counterparts suggestions on improving their treatment schemes.

Nigar Johar, commandant of the PEMH, told Xinhua that the Chinese team's visit to the hospital was important. "And definitely they have vast of experiences and we are gaining from that experiences and they are recommending things which would be helpful to us."

The Chinese medical experts will also visit Lahore and Karachi later to guide local medical staff over COVID-19 related prevention and treatment.