TEN MEDICAL experts from China arrived in the Philippines on Sunday to help the government come up with policies to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has sickened more than 3,200 people.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. welcomed the medical team along with two Chinese officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Department of Foreign Affairs said today. 

The Chinese team is expected to share “technical advice on the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the country,” DFA said in a social media post.

The DFA also received new donations from the Chinese government, including noninvasive ventilators, personal protective equipment suits and masks, it said.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 152 new cases, bringing the total infections to 3,246. Eight more patients died, raising the death toll to 152. Seven more patients recovered, bringing the total of those who have gotten well to 64, DoH said.

China has reported more than 81,600 cases of the virus since the outbreak began in Wuhan City, including 3,329 deaths, but critics have questioned the level of transparency around the figures.

Until last week, China’s national health commission had been excluding from its tally people who tested positive but showed no symptoms.

While the number of daily cases has dropped significantly since February, the risk of an epidemic rebound in Wuhan remained high, Wang Zhonglin, Wuhan’s Communist party chief, has said.

Wuhan has eased restrictions in recent weeks and authorities have said curbs on travel will be lifted on April 8.

The COVID-19 has sickened 1.2 million people and killed almost 65,000 people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including the World Health Organization. Almost 250,000 people have recovered, it said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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