A total of 1.8 million masks said on Wednesday that China gave priority to Pakistan with medical assistance for the coronavirus pandemic as soon as it brought the outbreak in its territories under control.
The prime minister was addressing a gathering today where he said that the worldwide demand for healthcare staff and material had shot up in the wake of the pandemic.
“I read today that the US had opened visas for health workers to assist them in handling the situation,” said the prime minister, noting that it was quite difficult to acquire a US visa in the past.
The prime minister lauded China for lending medical assistance and supplies to Pakistan to help curb the disease.
China helps Pakistan through medical supplies
Earlier this week, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Foundation and Alibaba Foundation sent a cargo plane carrying medical equipment to Pakistan. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan claims that two tons of supplies, worth Rs 67 million, were delivered to Karachi. These included face masks, test kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment.
“Collectively, the nations will receive a total of 1.8 million masks; kits for testing 210,000 people, 36,000 pieces of protective clothing, as well as essential medical equipment such as ventilators and forehead thermometers.”
The Chinese Embassy of Pakistan has been regularly posting updates on this whole endeavor on microblogging website Twitter. These tweets are constantly boasting the friendship between Pakistan and China through the hashtag #ChinaPakSolidarity.
Read more: China’s Jack Ma sends tons of COVID-19 relief materials to Pakistan
China’s consignment sent to Karachi
They also revealed that a cargo plane carrying N95 masks and other protective equipment had been dispatched to Karachi. These were received by Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail, on the 27th of March, at Karachi Airport. Speaking on the occasion, the governor said, “China had always supported Pakistan in all the testing times, the they it was helping the Pakistan government to overcome this challenge”. The governor then proceeded to commend the Pak-China friendship by saying, “the medical aid from China was a reflection of the everlasting friendship between China and Pakistan. He said the Pakistani nation was thankful to the Chinese people for this support”.