(22 April 2020) – Last April 05, 2020, a Chinese medical expert team (CMET) composed of 12 people, arrived in the Philippines. These experts, composed of doctors, nurses, laboratory personnel and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners, came from various health facilities from Fujian Province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

                              
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, DOH Assistant Secretary KG Ronquillo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, and Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary JM Andanar welcomes the anti-epidemic medical expert team headed by Dr Zheng Huiwen, Director General and Dr. Weng Shangeng, Vice President, both from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fuijjan Medical University (FAHFMU) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

During their 15-day mission, the CMET were able to visit the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, the Lung Center of the Philippines, the Philippine General Hospital, the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities at the Philippine International Convention Center and Paranaque City Colleges, as well as various private hospitals. Strict physical distancing, restriction in the number of participants in face-to-face interactions, and use of personal protective equipment were observed during these visits. The experts were also able to meet, through videoconference, various officials from the World Health Organization- Philippine Office and the DOH technical advisory group, as well as representatives from the local government unit of Polomolok, South Cotabato and the Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital.

 
Clockwise, from top: (1) An expert answers a question at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, (2) A meeting held at the San Lazaro Hospital auditorium, (3) CMET taking a tour at the Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility at the Philippine International Convention Center, (4) Assistant Secretary Kenneth G. Ronquillo and Director Mar Wynn Bello of the BIHC poses for a photo with Dr Zheng Huiwen and Dr. Weng Shangeng of the medical expert team, (5) Undersecretary Myrna C. Cabotaje and Assistant Secretary Kenneth G. Ronquillo holds a videoconference with the DOH medical expert team, and (6) A lecture is given by one of the experts while visiting the Lung Center of the Philippines.

The CMET provided multiple recommendations to the various health facilities and to the DOH, which spanned areas such as infection prevention and control, case detection and reporting, laboratory management, quarantine and isolation, and clinical treatment. These experts finished their mission on April 19, 2020.