COVID-19: Chinese Doctors in Nigeria End 14-Day Isolation Today

The team of 15 Chinese medical professionals who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 8, 2020, with medical equipment worth about $1.5 million, is expected to complete the mandatory 14-day isolation period today.

The team is expected to begin work tomorrow after the completion of the 14-day quarantine period. The invitation of the Chinese doctors by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 was highly criticized by most Nigerians especially doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

But 13 days after the arrival of the Chinese medical team made up of doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 have failed to provide a tangible update on the Chinese team.

The situation has raised a lot of concerns and questions: Who are these Chinese doctors? What are their names, designations and specialisations? Have they completed the mandatory two-week isolation? Have they started work in Nigeria? What is the scope of their work in Nigeria? How long are they going to stay in Nigeria?

When these questions were put forward to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, he told The Guardian: “We are not the only ones getting supplies from China…even New York got 1,000 ventilators from them as donations. Start with this recent evidence of Chinese experts giving technical support on COVID-19 to many countries, including our former colonial masters.