Malaysia has gained valuable insight on handling the COVID-19 outbreak from the experiences shared by the Chinese medical expert team, Malaysian Health Minister Adham Baba said on Friday.
The two-week visit of the Medical Consultant Expert Team from China to Malaysia provided opportunities to government health officials as well as members from the medical faculties of several public universities to exchange experience and technical knowledge.
These include the clinical case management, infection control and prevention measures, clinical research and investigation as well as the role of traditional Chinese medicine in managing COVID-19 cases, Adham said in a statement.
The expert team has provided the Malaysian side better understanding of COVID-19 and identified areas for improvement and possible areas of collaboration with China, he said.
“The shared experiences and knowledge gained from the multiple engagements with the medical expert team has been invaluable, and provided the Ministry of Health Malaysia better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Adham said the Chines expert team had also advised Malaysia on ways to prevent a rebound of cases, safeguarding of medical personnel and testing procedures among other matters, and had commended Malaysian efforts to fight the disease.
Adham expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for extending their assistance to Malaysia through sharing of knowledge as well as donations of medical supplies during this fight against the outbreak.
He said the visit is “a testament to the close relationship between both countries”, and Malaysia looks forward to furthering collaboration with China for the benefit of the community in both countries.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a press conference later that the visit by the Chinese expert team has been “mutually beneficial”.
Malaysia has been learning from China in policies and action plans as China faced the outbreak earlier then Malaysia, and the Chinese experts has been positive on Malaysia’s efforts, said Noor Hisham
“So it gives us a confidence in that sense that we are doing the right thing, exactly what they did,” he said, adding that the expert team did emphasize the need for border control to prevent the increase of imported case.
“So today we have eased the restrictions, but we strengthened our border control,” he said.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Friday that the country will ease restrictions to allow most economic and social activities to restart next week following the recent decline of the COVID-19 cases.
Malaysia reported 69 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total infections in the country to 6,071, among them 4,210 or 69.3 percent have been cured and discharged. One more fatality has been recorded, bringing the death toll in the country to 103.
The eight-member anti-COVID-19 medical consultant expert team arrived on April 18 for a two-week stay in Malaysia to share experience and expertise on fighting COVID-19 with their Malaysian counterparts.
Members of an anti-COVID-19 medical team from China to Malaysia pose for photos with Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian (5th L) and Fabian Bigar (5th R), official from Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, April 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)
