Workers unload boxes containing Chinese aid at the international airport of Damascus, Syria, on April 15, 2020. China on Wednesday donated 2,016 COVID-19 test kits to the Syria to help its fight against the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
DAMASCUS, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday donated 2,016 COVID-19 test kits to the Syria to help its fight against the novel coronavirus.
An aircraft carrying the detection kits landed in Damascus' International airport on Wednesday night and was received by Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and China's Ambassador to Syria Feng Biao.
At a handover ceremony, Feng told reporters that more Chinese aid will be sent to Syria in batches.
Addressing the Syrian people, the Chinese envoy said that "there is no need for fear or panic as this pandemic is curable and preventable and the Chinese people are with you."
Feng said that the coronavirus is a common enemy to the mankind, and international cooperation is the way to defeat the pandemic.
"We will work together with Syria and the international community and cooperate to face this pandemic, and I think that through our cooperation, we will finally win over this pandemic," he said.
For his part, Mekdad said that the Chinese aid reflects the genuine Chinese keenness to help Syria and other countries.
"The international community must work together to fight against the pandemic. Without real international cooperation, the countries cannot overcome the catastrophe of this pandemic," he said.
This is the first batch of China's donation to Syria since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
The Syrian Health Ministry said in a statement that four new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases to 33, including five recoveries and two deaths.
The Syrian government has taken several measures such as imposing a partial curfew, suspending schools and universities, and shuttering non-essential businesses, to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
