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

At the invitation of Kazakh government a medical team sent by the Chinese government arrived at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, on April 9 with medical supplies.

Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev and Kazakh Deputy Health Minister Kamalian Nadyrov welcomed the medical team at the airport.

Medical experts gather at Diwopu International Airport in Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on April 9. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 10-member team, consisting of experts in the fields of respiratory disease, intensive care, infectious disease and traditional Chinese medicine, was organized by the National Health Commission of China and distributed by Health Commission of Xinjiang.

The Chinese medical experts all have accumulated rich experience in China’s fight against the COVID-19 which they will share with their Kazakh counterparts in their joint battle against the virus. They will carry out cooperation with them in case screening, infectious disease prevention and control, medical records management, clinical treatment, community health management and laboratory testing based on local situations.

Zhang said that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Kazakhstan provided humanitarian assistance to China when it was badly hit by the virus. Now, China is sending a medical team to Kazakhstan to help them achieve an early win against the pandemic.

Ashikbayev said that the Chinese medical team is a concrete practice to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries. It is not the first time China has provided assistance to Kazakhstan. The first batch of Chinese medical supplies was handed over to Kazakhstan in Almaty several days ago. Chinese local governments and enterprises have also provided assistance to Kazakhstan, he said, expressing his gratitude to the Chinese government and people.

In addition to the medical masks, protective equipment, non-invasive ventilators and other donated materials, the Chinese expert team also brought traditional Chinese medicine and will help Kazakhstan fight the epidemic with an integrated Chinese and Western medicine diagnosis and treatment program.

The Chinese medical team will visit Nur-Sultan, Karaganda and Almaty during their stay.