Chinese Medical Experts In Nigeria Set To End 14-Day Isolation Today

Chinese medical experts who arrived Nigeria on April 8, 2020 will end their 14-day isolation today.

The team of 15 Chinese medical experts who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 8, 2020, with medical equipment worth about $1.5 million, will complete the mandatory 14-day isolation period today and begin work tomorrow.

Chinese medical experts will not treat coronavirus patients, FG insists

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 are yet to share an update on the Chinese medical team made up of doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, had told The Guardian:
 

“We are not the only ones getting supplies from China…even New York got 1,000 ventilators from them as donations. Start with this recent evidence of Chinese experts giving technical support on COVID-19 to many countries, including our former colonial masters.

“A group of Chinese experts also arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) to help deal with the coronavirus, bringing medical supplies with them. That was the first official medical team from China to the UK to help its fight against COVID-19.

“I do not see the essence of dwelling on the issue of Chinese in the face of all our other challenges before us. Most nations were glad to get support and supplies from China.”

When contacted for an update on the Chinese doctors, the President, Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Aliyu Sokomba, told The Guardian:

“I know very little about the Chinese ‘experts’ and their mission in Nigeria.

“The position of the Honorable Minister of Health is that they are not here to render medical services, they are here to install and train on how to use the equipment donated by China as part of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“Nothing has been said about them since they arrived.” Also, when contacted on the same issue, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, told The Guardian: “This is completely in the hands of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH).”