The first batch of the 2,000 sets of fast test kits for the novel coronavirus disease-2019 donated by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and the China Mammoth Foundation arrived in Manila yesterday to help the Philippines fight the spread of the deadly disease.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian briefed Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on the latest developments of China’s donation over the telephone and assured him of Beijing’s readiness to provide more test kits in the coming days.
Developed by China’s BGI Group, the Chinese Embassy said the high-tech fast test kit has the capability to issue results in just three hours and is widely used in China’s battle against the epidemic and proven to be quite effective.
It is also being exported to more than 50 countries, including Japan, Thailand, Brunei, Egypt, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates.
“Virus knows no boundary and humanity knows no nationality. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, China and the Philippines have been supporting and helping each other, demonstrating a profound friendship between close neighbors, friends, and brothers,” the Chinese Embassy said.
China had earlier pledged to provide the Philippines with urgently-needed medical materials such as test kits and protective clothing and will dispatch medical experts to the country to help in the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, talked over the phone last Sunday in which Wang assured that they are willing to do its utmost to help China’s friendly neighbor across the sea.
Relevant contents of the conversation between the two diplomats were contained in a statement from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua and were distributed to Filipino journalists by the Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday. (Roy Mabasa)