On Monday morning a HAINAN Airlines flight from Beijing arrived in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to deliver aid and transport several medical specialists to help fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a report on teleSUR.
According to reports, the HAINAN Airlines aircraft arrived in Caracas at 2:30 A.M. (local time) on Monday. The aircraft reportedly transported a large amount of humanitarian aid and eight specialist.
“At 2.30 in the morning, a HAINAN Airlines plane arrived that brought to Venezuela eight Chinese specialists in respiratory conditions to help fight COVID-19. It is the third flight between the two countries in the context of the emergency,” teleSUR correspondent Leonel Retamal Muñoz reported.
China has come to the aid of several nations affected by the coronavirus, including countries like Italy and Iran, who have been deeply impacted by the illness.
According to a CNN report on Thursday, on the streets of Caracas, tension is palpable. The government has put the military in charge of enforcing the national shutdown. Soldiers can be seen setting up armed checkpoints and taking over petrol stations to ration fuel.
CNN said in public hospitals, where resources are already thin, the feeling is that of calm before the storm.
“The expectation for Venezuela is truly a terrifying scenario,” says physician Dr. Christian Ramos, of health insurance provider Universitas.
Two weeks ago Venezuela announced it had received 4,000 Covid-19 testing kits from China.