China Harbour donates COVID-19 prevention supplies to Pakistan

China Harbour Engineering Company Limited’s (CHEC) Gwadar East Bay Expressway project donates COVID-19 prevention supplies to the Gwadar Development Authority Hospital. [Photo courtesy of China Harbour]

China Harbour Engineering Company Limited’s (CHEC) Gwadar East Bay ExpresswayDepartment and the Red Cross Society of China recently donated five boxes of disinfectant and related supplies and 1,000 face masks to the Gwadar Development Authority Hospital in Pakistan in order to assist with COVID-19 prevention efforts.

The director of the hospital expressed his gratitude to the organizations that provided the materials. He mentioned that they are a manifestation of the friendship between China and Pakistan and that they have helped to address the shortages that the hospital has faced. He noted that the pandemic is currently severe and prevention supplies are scarce but also mentioned that he believes that it can be overcome if everyone cooperates.

There have been 5,183 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan and 71,686 in Iran, which is located west of Gwadar, as of April 9. Pakistan has suspended all public gatherings, shut down its schools, and the border between the two countries is currently closed.

Pakistan donated medical supplies to China when the COVID-19 outbreak emerged. A major part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, Gwadar spontaneously organized a large march on Feb. 19 to demonstrate its solidarity with China and its battle against the pandemic.

CHEC’s Gwadar East Bay ExpresswayDepartment immediately executed an emergency prevention and control plan when the COVID-19 outbreak spread to Pakistan. Checkpoints were created at construction sites and lodging facilities for the purpose of screening people for high temperatures, and the flow and access of vehicles and personnel has been restricted. Prevention information has been issued to employees, and efforts have been made to avoid contact with potentially infected groups. Emergency contact teams have been created, and inspections, quarantines, and other containment measures have been introduced.

The prevention and control efforts that CHEC’s Gwadar East Bay ExpresswayDepartment has implemented have been carried out in an orderly manner, and work is otherwise proceeding as usual. The department has experienced “zero accidents, zero suspected cases, and zero confirmed cases” of COVID-19 thus far.

CHEC’s Pakistan divisions have been cooperating with local government bodies and plans to donate more medical supplies to the country and work with Gwadar’s citizens to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

An employee checks staff members’ temperatures at a construction site. [Photo courtesy of China Harbour]