Team arrives in Iraq to aid fight against virus spread

An expert team dispatched by the Red Cross Society of China arrived in Iraq on Saturday night to support the Middle Eastern country's fight against COVID-19.

The team flew from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to Baghdad in a chartered plane sent by the Iraqi transport authority, bringing with them virus testing kits, traditional Chinese medicines and other medical devices and equipment.

The seven team members come from the Guangdong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, DAAN Gene Co of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co.

As the team leader, Tao Zhongquan, from the Guangdong branch of the Red Cross Society of China, said they would stay in Iraq for a month to assist the Iraqi government to curb the epidemic, with the tasks including testing, treatment and follow-up work, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.