A boost in the battle against COVID-19 . . . Chinese government hands over medical supplies to Barbados

Today, H.E. Yan Xiusheng, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Barbados, officially handed over the donation of anti-coronavirus medical supplies from the Chinese government to the Barbados government, to Lt. Col. the Hon. Jeffrey Bostic, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados and Dr. Anton Best, Acting Chief Medical Officer of Barbados.

The donated medical supplies include 7, 000 surgical face masks, 5,000 KN95 respirators, 8, 450 surgical protective gloves, 4, 530 medical protective goggles, 4, 500 medical protective gowns, 250 non-contact infrared thermometers, and one ventilator. The first batch was delivered to Queen Elizabeth Hospital last week, the second batch arrived in Barbados on April 1, and the third batch will come in the following days.

Ambassador Yan pointed out that public health crises pose a common challenge for humanity. Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons to tackle them. Thanks to the arduous efforts of the Chinese people and the support from the international community, now the situation of the epidemic prevention and control in China is moving steadily in a positive direction. Life and work are quickly returning to normal.

At the most difficult moment in its fight against the outbreak, China received firm support and solidarity from the Barbados Government and people, which was expressed in the letter from the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados to His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China. Such expressions of friendship and solidarity will always be remembered and cherished by the Chinese people.

There is an old Chinese saying – you give a peach to me and I return you a white jade for friendship. Just as President Xi Jinping remarked at the recent Extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19, “guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China will be more than ready to share its good practices, conduct joint research and development of drugs and vaccines, and provide assistance where we can to countries hit by the growing outbreak.” Saying that, China will continue to share its experiences of the epidemic prevention and treatment with Barbadian friends, and try its best to support Barbadians to overcome this critical challenge, jointly safeguarding the health and well-being of the people of the two countries.

Minister Bostic and Dr Best thanked the Chinese Government and people for the timely donation of the desperately needed medical supplies to Barbados, which showed the solidarity and friendship between Barbados and China. They also said these medical supplies will definitely improve Barbados’s capacity to combat the coronavirus. Barbados is willing to learn from China’s experience in epidemic prevention and treatment, and will win the battle against COVID-19.

Besides the donation from Chinese Government, Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation of China also donated 30, 000 surgical face masks, 1, 500 test kits and two ventilators to Barbados, which arrived in the island on Today. (PR)