NASSAU| Minister of Health, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville welcomed Her Excellency, Ms. Dai Qingli, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Bahamas, to the Princess Margaret Hospital on Thursday to officially accept a major donation of PPE and other supplies on behalf of the Public Hospitals Authority. The donation of three (3) 40’ containers of supplies was facilitated by the Chinese Embassy and will be inventoried and disbursed by the PHA’s Supplies Management Agency (SMA).
Ambassador Dai Qingli advised that the donation handed over Thursday had a combined value of 1.2 million Chinese Yuan, or approximately one hundred seventy thousand dollars ($170,000).
She further noted that “These supplies have been donated as an outcome of the Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting between China and Caribbean countries held in April last year. They are the eleventh (11th) batch, and largest so far, of medical supplies, offered to The Bahamas since the start of the pandemic.” The donation was characterized as concrete evidence of China’s friendship with the Bahamian people.
Among the items donated are oximeters, PPE (from masks to shoe covers), and hospital trollies. In his remarks accepting the donation, Minister Darville expressed the nation’s gratitude for the “gift of love” given by the Chinese people.
He further communicated, “COVID- 19 still exists, and even though we are seeing some cases here at the Princess Margaret Hospital, there is no need for any major panic at this time or the implementation of any new restrictive measures.”
The Minister further stressed that at this time there is no need for any testing requirements for travel to the Bahamas whether from China or other destinations. The Minister went on to share that he would be joining celebrations for the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, with the Ambassador and Embassy staff later that evening.
