MANILA, Philippines — Aside from offering their medical expertise to fight COVID-19, Chinese medical experts also donated medical supplies for distribution to different hospitals and health centers in the country.
In a virtual presser on Sunday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire announced that the Chinese medical experts and officials brought 5,000 personal protective equipment (PPEs), 30,000 N95 masks, 300,000 medical masks, 5,000 face shields, and 30 ventilators.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed 10 medical experts and two officials from China “to share technical advice on the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the country”. DFA said the experts will “not take part in any direct clinical diagnosis or treatment.”
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, which outbreak started in China’s Wuhan City in Hubei province in late 2019.
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Globally, the virus already infected more than 1,210, 430 people and killed more than 65,440 as of April 5.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Philippines has 3,246 people infected with COVID-19, including 152 deaths and 64 recoveries.