MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Pakistan’s Disaster Management Authority islooking at purchasing lung ventilators from Russian companies amid thenovel coronavirus spread, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khantold TASS on Monday.
He said that the country is facing the problem of ventilators shortages andis trying to find a way out of this situation. “But one challenge whichstill remains is ventilators, just like everywhere else in the world. It isa challenge, which we are trying to deal with,” he said. “Our DisasterManagement authorities have started scouting the Russian companies for thepurchases of ventilators. They are working in terms of getting technicalspecs, the pricing quotations and everything.”
According to the Pakistani diplomat, the current pandemic has become aserious challenge for the country’s healthcare system. Thus, in his words,medics in Pakistan are still short of protective gear, despite thegovernment’s efforts to resolve this problem. Nevertheless, the country hasmanaged to resolve the problem of masks and is now producing enough ofthem. “The hospitals are also evolving their standard operating proceduresand protocols,” he noted.
“But this is second-line issues: masks, ventilators and hospitalization.The first line issue is public health and public awareness, massawareness,” he stressed, adding that much depends on how people observesanitary recommendations, the thing Pakistani authorities are focusing on.link
The ambassador said that his country so far doesn’t plan to ask Russia’sassistance but noted he has no doubts that Russia will extend a helpinghand if need be. “We know if we have any specific request Russia will bethe first country to offer assistance to us,” he underscored. “As soon asthe government decides that there is a particular thing we need we willcome to the Russian government. Because we are sure the Russian governmentwill extend full support.”
“Russia and Pakistan have long-standing traditions of cooperation andRussia is one of our closest allies and friends and we consider Russia as afactor of stability in international system. Not just politically. Buteconomically, strategically,” he said, adding that people in Pakistan stillremember Russia’s assistance after the 2005 devastating earthquake and the2010 floods.
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According to the latest update, as many as 13,106 coronavirus cases wereconfirmed in Pakistan. At least 2,866 patients have recovered and 272 havedied.
The Pakistani government closed the country’s borders and suspended alldomestic and international flights for a period from April 18 to 30. Alockdown regime was imposed.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World HealthOrganization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia inthe city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novelcoronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in everycorner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.According to the latest statistics, over 3,000,000 people have beeninfected worldwide and more than 207,000 deaths have been reported. Inaddition, so far, over 882,000 individuals have recovered from the illnessacross the globe.
