The cargo plane YG-9067 carrying the goods landed at Jinnah International airport today, marking the third flight from China that has brought medical supplies. The flight, YG-9067, was sent by Chinese firm YTO Cargo.
Moreover, China had sent a plane carrying medical supplies earlier on Friday March 27, including 56,000 testing kits, N-95 masks and other material, to Karachi. On March 25, China had sent a plane carrying 450,000 face masks including 50,000 N-95 masks to the country.
The aid came as Pakistan reported more than 1,400 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 11 deaths on Friday.
Read more: Video of salute to doctors goes viral on social media
According to the Chinese embassy, a team of Chinese doctors will also arrive in Islamabad today. According to the Foreign Office, China is sending aid to Pakistan to help ward off the coronavirus threat. The Chinese doctors will visit the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Sunday, sources informed.
The Chinese doctors will lend their medical expertise to their Pakistani counterparts as China is the only country that has successfully diminished the COVID-19 threat, FO spokesperson said.
According to spokesperson, Chinese government has provided 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, and 10,000 units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The spokesperson said that the Chinese government has also provided $4 million to build a separate hospital for coronavirus patients. The FO said that the Xinjiang government has separately provided 50,000 masks to the Sindh government while aid from private means in China has also been received.
This includes donations from the AliBaba Foundation and the JackMA Foundation, which have provided 50,000 testing kits and 500,000 masks to Pakistan. China had also separately provided two tonnes of masks, tests kits, ventilators and PPEs worth Rs67 million to Pakistan, said the FO.
Cronavirus updates thus far
Pakistan has reported 11 deaths from novel coronavirus while the total number of cases has surged to 1408 as 457 patients have been tested positive for the epidemic in Sindh, 133 in Balochistan, 490 in Punjab, 180 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 107 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 39 in Islamabad and two in Azad Kashmir.
According to details, total number of patients who have recovered is 25.
National Coordination Committee (NCC) under the supervision of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has decided to limit the congregational prayers in mosques.
Following the orders, all the provinces have banned congregational prayers in mosques. The Friday prayers have also been limited as only healthy people will be allowed to offer prayers in the mosques.