China Railway Group Limited (CREC) has donated Personal Protective Equipment and other safety gears to the Combined Military Hospital and Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka to extend support to the Bangladesh government's fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

CREC is the contractor of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project and the mother company of the contractor of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project in Bangladesh.

In a programme held at the CREC office in the capital's Baridhara yesterday, the consignment of gears was handed over to Colonel Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury representing Bangladesh Army and Lt Colonel Dr Abdul Wahab，assistant director of Kurmitola General Hospital, by Wang Kun, contractor's representative of CREC for Padma Bridge Rail Link Project.  

CREC has donated 10,080 N95 particulate respirators, 40,000 disposable surgical masks, 1,000 medical protection gowns, 400 medical goggles, and 500 Covid-19 detection kits to the two hospitals.

This is the first batch of PPEs that CREC is donating to Bangladesh, and CREC will try its utmost to provide more assistance if the coronavirus situation worsens in Bangladesh, Wang Kun said.

"Drawing from China's experience, fast and accurate testing and adequate PPE for medical professionals are essential for curbing Covid-19. The pandemic that we are facing today can no longer be fought by just government entities. We all need to work together. CREC entered Bangladesh in the 1990s and it has been growing with the development of Bangladesh. Being a trustworthy member of the society of Bangladesh we would like to stand with Bangladesh in the current fight against this virus. This donation is a symbol of CREC's commitment and good wish for Bangladesh," he said.

CREC has also been making huge efforts to provide a safe working environment for its workers to ensure that they do not contract Covid-19 during work, Wang Kunn said, adding that for its 9,000 strong staff in Bangladesh, safety equipment has already been purchased.

All those resources are being utilised properly to ensure zero infection among its Chinese and local staff, he also said.

The execution of both Padma Bridge Rail Link Project and Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project remains uninterrupted despite the current difficulties arising from the coronavirus outbreak, Wang Kun added.

Both Colonel Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury and Lt Colonel Dr Abdul Wahab expressed their gratitude to CREC for its great and timely help in the fight against Covid-19.

https://www.thedailystar.net/coronavirus-deadly-new-threat/news/china-railway-group-ltd-donates-ppe-safety-gears-cmh-kurmitola-hospital-1890820