Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Minister of Health Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samamteh has met with the Chinese Ambassador H.E. Ma Jianchun for the third time, to discuss how to combat the dangerous epidemic.
The recent meeting which was held on 12th February 2020 saw the two officials exchange views on how to further strengthen communication and cooperation between the two countries, to prevent the outbreak from reaching the Gambia.
Chinese Ambassador Ma briefed Dr. Samateh on his meeting with President Adama Barrow on Monday, February 10th during which they discussed the joint efforts of the two countries in preventing the COVID-19 from reaching the Gambia. He updated Dr. Samateh on the new measures taken and progress made by the Chinese Government in curbing the outbreak and in treating infected patients; that 160 medical teams and over 19,800 medical staff including 14,000 nurses and many military medical personnel have already been dispatched to Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese Ambassador Ma said the daily number of newly confirmed infections in regions outside Hubei province, continues to decrease and the number of infected persons traveling from China to other countries has been brought down to near zero.
Ambassador Ma expressed appreciation to the Gambia Government for its consistent solidarity with China in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak; that from what has been achieved so far, there is more confidence that China will soon win the battle.
On his part, Dr. Samateh expressed sympathy and solidarity of the Gambian people to their Chinese counterparts through the Chinese Ambassador. He commended China for efficiently implementing effective control measures at home and conducting active cooperation with the international community since the beginning of the outbreak. Dr. Samateh talked about the Gambia Government’s new efforts in keeping the country free from the COVID-19 outbreak together with the country’s development partners in terms of strengthening entry surveillance, capacity building and community sensitization. He expressed confidence that further communication and cooperation between his Ministry and the Chinese Embassy will result in better prospects in effectively preventing the outbreak in the Gambia.
Ambassador Ma spoke highly of the efforts of the Gambian side in preventing the outbreak and expressed the willingness of the Chinese Embassy to stand together with the Gambia’s Ministry of Health, in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak; that a new batch of medical supplies donated by the Chinese Government aims to help strengthen the country’s public health system, has already arrived at the Banjul Port.
