— With Jocelyn Montemayor
AMBASSADOR to China Chito Sta. Romana on Monday said Chinese physicians will soon be deployed to the Philippines to assist in efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
He said arrangements, including the date of arrival and the names of the Chinese doctors, are being finalized.
Pending the arrival of the said doctors, Sta.Romana said, Beijing promised to send additional medical aid to the country.
China has donated 100,000 face masks and the same number of testing kits and 10,000 N95 masks to the Philippines.
Sta. Romana, during the “Laging Handa” public briefing, said the Chinese health personnel were the ones mentioned by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Heath Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, in the same briefing, reiterated that the Department of Health has officially communicated to the Chinese government, through the Philippine Embassy in China, the request for Chinese experts “to get their guidance regarding our measures that we are implementing here and if they can share their expertise because we saw that their country lessened the number of cases and number of deaths.”
The epicenter of COVID-19 is Wuhan City in China’s Hubei province.
