China to still help Africa to boost ability to fight virus

China will continue to offer help to African countries to improve their ability in combating the novel coronavirus outbreak, said an official with the National Health Commission.

Li Mingzhu, an official at the commission's department of international cooperation and exchanges, said China has been sending medical teams to African countries for 57 years and there are around 1,000 Chinese medical workers in African countries. 

They have conducted more than 250 training sessions for more than 10,000 African people, Li said at a news conference on Thursday. 

For example, the medical teams conducted training at local hospitals to improve local medical workers' knowledge on diagnosis and treatment of the epidemic, and the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia has helped the country to adjust testing equipment and Ethiopia has become the second African country capable of conducting nucleic acid testing for COVID-19, he said. 

Medical experts in China have also held video conferences with local experts in 54 African countries to offer them technological support, he said. 

African countries have expressed their appreciation for the help from China and said China's experiences in combating the outbreak are very valuable to them, he added.