Press release (Chinese Embassy)
On February 12th, Ma Jianchun, the Chinese ambassador to The Gambia, met with Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, Minister of Health of The Gambia, for the third time since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). They exchanged views on further strengthening communication and cooperation in preventing the outbreak in The Gambia.
Ambassador Ma briefed Minister Samateh on his fruitful meeting with President Adama Barrow on Monday, February 10th, during which they discussed at length the joint efforts in preventing the COVID-19 in The Gambia. He also updated Minister Samateh on new measures taken and the progress made by the Chinese government in curbing the outbreak and treating infected patients.
As of Wednesday, more than 160 medical teams and over 19,800 medical staff from nationwide, including 14,000 nurses and many military medical personnel, have been dispatched to Hubei province, the epicentre of the pneumonia outbreak. Now in China, daily number of newly confirmed infection cases in regions outside Hubei province have been decreasing, and the number of infected persons travelling from China to other countries has been brought down to near zero. Ambassador Ma expressed appreciation to the Gambian government for its consistent solidarity with China in the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak. The Ambassador said he was confident that China will soon win the battle.
Minister Samateh once again expressed to Ambassador Ma the sympathy and solidarity from the Gambian people. He commended China for efficiently implementing effective control measures at home and conducting active cooperation with the international society since the very beginning of the outbreak. Minister Samateh talked about the Gambian government’s new efforts in keeping the country free from the COVID-19 outbreak along with The Gambia’s development partners especially in terms of strengthening entry surveillance, capacity building and community sensitisation. 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 by the Gambian side in preventing the outbreak, expressed the willingness of the Chinese Embassy to stand together with the Gambian Ministry of Health in battle against the novel coronavirus pneumonia. He further added that a new batch of medical supplies donated by the Chinese government, aiming at helping strengthening The Gambia’s public health system, has arrived at the Banjul port.
