Medical supplies such as masks and respirators sent from China to aid
Italy's fight against novel coronavirus have been hailed as vital and
timely by the Italian community, as Chinese medical experts on the
ground in Italy are racing to help reduce the country's high mortality
rate.
A team of nine Chinese medics, comprising epidemiologists, intensive
care specialists and a plasma therapy expert, arrived in Italy late on
Thursday on a plane loaded with 31 metric tons of equipment, as the
European country grapples a surge in new infections, a shortage of
protective and medical devices and severe fatalities.
"To bring down mortality rate is a priority in disease control,
especially given that we're coping with an emerging virus. So we have
dispatched the most competent experts in treating severe and critical
cases to Italy," said Lu Ming, a team member who also works with the
National Health Commission's international cooperation department.
Italy counted 21,157 total infections with 1,441 deaths, its health
authority said on Saturday evening local time. That has put the
country's fatality rate far higher than most other countries affected by
the pathogen.
To facilitate treatment efforts, the Chinese team has brought
intensive care equipment, such as electrocardiogram machines that
monitor patients' conditions and respirators, as well as traditional
Chinese medicines and other drugs that show efficacy in curing
infections in China, according to Lu, who spoke with China National
Radio.
"We have also carried plasma and blood products from recovered
Chinese patients, " he added. Using such infusions of blood plasma in
infected patients is believed to be a valid therapeutic approach.
Yang Huichuan, vice-president of China National Biotech Group, is a
member of the team for his expertise in convalesce plasma. He said in a
personal account published by Xinhua News Agency on Saturday that the
team was greeted with warm hospitality and was impressed with Italians'
demand for absorbing China's experiences in controlling the epidemic.
"From those working on technical details, those involved in diagnosis
and treatment, to Red Cross members and diplomats - they were all eager
to meet us, as Italy is now at a stage of a rapid contagion," he said.
The team plans to visit more hospitals in Rome and then Lombardy
region in northern Italy that was hit hardest by the virus to better
understand the country's epidemic situation and offer more tailor-made
suggestions, Yang said.
Eva Dal Pozzo, a senior business consultant in Italy, said as Italian
hospitals are overloaded and local factories do not have sufficient
production capacity, therefore devices delivered by China such as
intubation are "vital."
"I appreciate a lot this lovely gesture from China," she was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
In addition to concerted efforts to save patients, Chinese experts
have also underlined the significance of restricting movement of the
public and strict quarantine of the infected.
"We're willing to share hard-won diagnosis and treatment guidelines
with Italians, and we also hope that our Italian colleagues will be able
to enforce proper quarantine of infected cases and general epidemic
control measures," Lu, from the National Health Commission, said.
Italy has already instituted a countrywide lockdown on Wednesday
intended to limit the spread of the virus. Local residents began
snapping up masks and disinfectants that triggered a shortage of
personal protective equipment.
"Everywhere you can see signs indicating that the masks are finished.
For this reason, this cargo of masks from China can be vital in the
areas with lots of patients. It was a godsend," Giorgio Ronzani, an
Italian lawyer, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Cinzia Pasquale, a senior consultant on European Union affairs living
in Lombardy, said her family's search for facial masks turned out
futile and online purchases were severely delayed due to shuttered
logistics. "So one can imagine how the load of Chinese medical material
had been welcomed," she was quoted by Xinhua.
"Seeing how China has managed the outbreak in Wuhan, I am, personally
very confident of the contribution that the Chinese medical staff will
make to the heroic Italian doctors who have been overwhelmed by this
health emergency," she added.
Italy is the third country after Iran and Iraq that has received
official Chinese medical assistance as the novel coronavirus is raging
worldwide and the World Health Organization has declared the virus
outbreak as a global pandemic.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Francesco Rocca, president
of the Italian Red Cross Society, had both expressed their gratitude to
China's generous offerings at a news conference following the aid
team's arrival last week.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar