Banjul,
4 February 2020 – The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, International
Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, expressed Gambia’s
solidarity and sympathy with the People’s Republic of China on the novel
coronavirus outbreak and the loss of lives. He said this during an audience
with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Gambia, H.E. Ma
Jainchun in his (Tangara’s) office in Banjul.
The
purpose of the audience was to update the Government of The Gambia through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In
welcoming Ambassador Ma, Minister Tangara said the Government of The Gambia
appreciates and is grateful to efforts employed by China in containing the epidemic
and the support China continues to render to Gambians in Wuhan among other
provinces.
The
Minister said that The Gambia fully recognises and highly appreciates China’s
effective response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Minister shared Gambia’s solidarity with
the Government and People of China during this difficult moment while
highlighting that The Gambia shares the World Health Organisation’s (WHO)
recognition as well as other collaborating partners’ response in tackling the
coronavirus.
Minister
Tangara therefore assured Ambassador Ma that The Gambia will abide by WHO’s
recommendation for countries not to impose travel or trade restrictions on
China. He however informed that as a country, The Government of The Gambia
through the Ministry of Health will continue to strengthen its surveillance
system at all entry points to ensure the safety of people living in The
Gambia.
In
light of this engagement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the
general public that the Ministry is in close contact with Embassy staff in
Beijing who have reported that no Gambian is infected with the virus.
The
Ministry will work with the relevant Government Departments and other partners
to ensure that the necessary provisions are provided to Gambian citizens living
in China.
In
order to ensure constant update on coronavirus, the Ministry has created the
following service lines that can be contacted:
+86 130 0119 5701 for Gambians in China, and +220 932 5988 for residents
in Gambia.
For
his part, Ambassador Ma disclosed that there are 17,000 confirmed cases and 65
percent of which is concentrated in Wuhan province, the epicentre of the
outbreak. He said the initial intervention made was to isolate affected persons
whilst resources were being mobilised by the Chinese Government. He however
said that some of the affected persons were discharged following positive
response to treatment. He further informed that the Chinese Government has now
mobilised medical teams across China, including military medical personnel to
tackle the outbreak.
He
said as part of efforts to curb the outbreak, China built a 1000-bed-hospital
in 10 days; and that another hospital with capacity of 1300 beds will be ready
on the 5th February 2020. He said with the on-going efforts, there is optimism
that the outbreak will be contained in the soonest possible time.
Ambassador
Ma also discussed with the Honourable Minister the WHO’s declaration on the
coronavirus outbreak. The WHO Director General has recently hailed China’s
decisive and strong measures and expressed full confidence in China’s ability
to defeat the outbreak.
Issued
by the Communication Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,International
Cooperation and Gambians Abroad
