By Roy Mabasa Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana on Monday said Beijing will soon dispatch a medical team to Manila to help the Philippines in its effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “Kasali na yan sa plano na merong medical team na inihahanda para tumulong sa atin (That’s part of the plan. They’re preparing to send a medical team to help us). That will be done soon,” Sta. Romana said during the regular Laging Handa briefing of the Inter-Agency Task Force aired over the government station PTV-4. The Philippine envoy’s statement confirmed the recent tweet made by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. of ongoing talks with the Chinese Embassy regarding the coming of Chinese doctors amid the spike in the number COVID-19 cases in the country. Aside from the medical team, Sta. Romana disclosed that medical supplies from China are being airlifted to the country using Philippine Air Force planes, more particularly donations from the private sector. He explained that the medical supplies are not government-to-government transactions but donations from Filipino-Chinese businessmen like Carlos Chan, manufacturer of the multi-billion Oishi snacks. In the interview, the Philippine envoy also relayed to the government the appeal of Filipino workers in China for financial help as most of them were displaced by the COVID-19 spread. He cited the cases of Filipino musicians, teachers and those working in hotels and households who found themselves jobless at the moment following the outbreak. “Nagtatanong sila kung may maasahan na financial assistance sa DOLE, nakikiusap sila sa Embahada na matulungan sila sa panahon na ito. (They are asking the Embassy if the Department of Labor and Employment can extend financial assistance to them during this difficult period),” Sta. Romana said, adding that even undocumented Filipinos are facing rough times and are seeking government repatriation. In general, Ambassador Sta. Romana said the situation in China has significantly improved over the past few weeks with the expected re-opening of certain industries and public transport very soon. Except for Hong Kong and Macau, no Filipinos are affected by the virus in Mainland China, according to the Filipino diplomat. The difficult experience that the Chinese went through in fighting the virus, said Sta. Romana, “should serve as a lesson” to Filipinos. He stressed that China lost many of its front liners at the onset of the COVID-19 spread, prompting the People’s Liberation Army to gather and send hundreds of doctors and health care workers to Wuhan. Based on what he saw in China, Sta. Romana said the strategy is to build temporary zones for isolation, segregate those with severe cases from the moderate and slightly affected patients to avoid infecting each other. “What’s important is early detection, including early isolation and testing. There’s also the need to segregate those with fever from those with severe symptoms,” he added. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t0bkn