The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, stated that he would really be grateful if Nigerians stopped asking him about the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team that recently came into the country to help tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.
This was as he said his ministry cannot always explain the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team because they are not guests of the federal government but CCECC, a construction company.
AllNews recalls that the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and a section of Nigerians had kicked against the involvement of Chinese doctors in the fight against COVID-19. The Presidential Task Force, PTF, had on April 6 defended the coming of the Chinese team, saying every country needs all the help it can get and that even the “almighty United States of America USA” is seeking external help.
The PTF on COVID-19 further explained that the Chinese will only offer their experiences and expertise as they are not accredited by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to ply their trade in the country. He, however, said no country on earth has greater experience than China when it comes to managing the Covid-19.
Responding to questions at the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday, Ehanire said he would be very happy if he is not asked where the medical team is.
His words; “On the Chinese Doctors, I want to, first of all, explain that I think not all of them were doctors and I think that I heard that some of them are Technicians but they are staff of CCECC.
“The Ministry of Health is not their host. So, we cannot always explain what happened to them or where they are. There seems to be a lot of interest in these doctors but they are staff of the company and I think they are on the company visa.
“So, I will be very happy if you do not ask me about where they are because they are not really our guests in that sense. But we have been able to learn some things from them by interacting with them on their experiences in their country.
“We have shared experiences as to what they did in their country, how they managed their COVID-19.”
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