China donates medical supplies to Fiji to help fight COVID-19

A cameraman films the medical supplies donated by China in Suva, Fiji, May 4, 2020. China on Monday donated medical supplies to Fiji to help the South Pacific island nation fight against COVID-19. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)

SUVA -- China on Monday donated medical supplies to Fiji to help the South Pacific island nation fight against COVID-19.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of the medical supplies, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo said the Chinese government donated 300,000 U.S. dollars cash to the Fijian government to support its combat against COVID-19.

Qian handed 52 carton boxes of medical supplies with a total value of about 270,000 Fijian dollars (about 119,880 U.S. dollars) to further support Fiji's effort in going through the pandemic.

He said all those medical supplies will serve critical roles in protecting frontier medical staff, and identifying potential cases, so as to contribute to the medical capacity development in fighting the pandemic.

The ambassador stressed that the virus is a common enemy to all mankind. China and Fiji have a stake in each other's well-being and should stay united and work together.

"In the midst of all this crisis, humanity is still very strong and for that we are truly grateful to the People's Republic of China for you officials and for the many other organizations within China that are supporting the fight in Fiji and also the Pacific," said Fiji's Minister for Health and Medical Services Ifereimi Waqainabete.

Waqainabete said the donation from China will further strengthen Fiji's fight against the virus and also enhance the strong development partnership with China.

"Going forward, this pandemic will only make us stronger and also grant us the ability to share expertise between Fiji and China."

The minister also told Xinhua that he congratulated China for its good work to contain the COVID-19 and the expertise China has shared with the countries such as Fiji.

As for how China and Fiji can strengthen its cooperation in the field of health, especially in the battle against this deadly virus, he said the two countries connect in many ways in terms of health.

"This is not the first time we have health support from China. We had some of our health staff for training in China, and we have had some visits from China to our hospitals and health centers."

The batch of medical supply to Fiji on Monday, the first of its kind by the Chinese government after the outbreak early this year, includes 1,000 pieces of medical disposable protective clothing, 1,000 pieces of medical protective goggles and 1,000 pieces of N95 protective face masks among others.

According to Qian, a batch of face masks donated by China's Jiangmen Municipal Government of Guangdong Province, and other batches of medical supplies donated by the Chinese people from all walks of life will be arriving in Fiji very soon.

Earlier next week, 1,000 tests of PCR diagnosis test kits donated by the Chinese government, and medical supplies donated by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, by Guangdong Provincial Government and Chinese companies in Fiji are expected to arrive via a French Polynesian courtesy chartered flight.