President Xi: China to continue help to fight Ebola

SL's HE President Ernest Bai Koroma & President Xi Jinping of PRC

(Xinhua) NANJING - President Xi Jinping on Saturday vowed that China will continue to help international control of the Ebola epidemic in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

China will continue to make joint efforts with the international community to prevent and control the outbreak, Xi said in a meeting before the opening ceremony of the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games scheduled in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, on Saturday evening.

China has provided emergency medical material assistance to Ebola-hit countries and sent expert groups. China's medical teams in the countries are working with local staff, according to Xi.

A Chinese plane carrying supplies worth 30 million yuan (4.9 million US dollars) arrived in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia on Monday. The supplies include medical protective clothes, disinfectants, thermo-detectors and medicines.

China also sent three expert teams composed of epidemiologists and specialists in disinfection and protection as well as medical supplies to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone despite high risk of infection.

Before their arrival, eight members of a Chinese medical team sent to assist patients in Sierra Leone's hospitals were quarantined after treating Ebola patients.

Xi said he has ordered Chinese departments to pay close attention to the development of the epidemic and take necessary precautionary measures. The top priority is to have a scientific understanding of the epidemic, help African countries cope, and to strengthen monitoring and control, he said.

Xi also spoke highly of the measures taken by the UN and its professional institutions, and called for more assistance and input for medical and health services in African countries.

Ban applauded China's timely assistance and called on the international community to continue to help African countries fight the epidemic.

According to the most recent statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to escalate, with 1,975 cases and 1,069 deaths reported in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

The Youth Olympic Games, the brainchild of former International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, are held for young athletes ages 15 to 18.