T.H. Kandhi Elieisar, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs; Dickson Wichep, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transportation, Communication, & Infrastructure; T.H. Feliciano Perman, Lieutenant Governor of Pohnpei State; T.H. Livingston A. Taulung, Secretary of the Department of Health & Social Affairs; T.H. Ferny S. Perman, Chair of the Congressional Committee on Health & Social Affairs; H.E. Huang Zheng, Ambassador of China to the FSM; Mr. Jacky Feng, Project Manager at China Construction Science & Industry Corporation Ltd. Photo courtesy of FSM Information Service
Palikir, Pohnpei — The Federated States of Micronesia has received from China 30 container units that will be used as isolation facilities for possible Covid-19 cases.
The containers, handed over by Chinese Ambassador Huang Zheng to FSM officials on Oct .16, were the latest in a series of Covid-19-related donations from Beijing.
In April, China donated medical supplies and $100,000 in cash assistance to FSM; this was followed by additional $50,000 in financial aid and thousands of protective gear delivered in May. Earlier this wekk, FSM and China signed a contract for the construction of a new passenger/cargo vessel for Yap.
The isolation units are intended to hold individuals who are either persons under investigation for Covid-19 or confirmed cases. They will be distributed among the four states: 10 for Pohnpei, 12 for Chuuk, 4 for Yap and 4 for Kosrae.
FSM Foreign Affairs Secretary Kandhi A. Elieisar and Health Secretary Livingston A. Taulung received the donation from Huang during a formal handover ceremony last week.
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The isolation units are repurposed shipping containers. "Internally, the isolation units offer accommodations consistent with quality hotel rooms, including comfortable bedding, powerful air-conditioning, and hot water,"according to a press release from FSM Information Service.
"Each isolation unit uses standardized fabrication components, with modular doors and windows built through a mechanized assembly process. Comprehensive electromechanical wiring and FSM-specific customization will help ensure that, in the event the nation receives a potential case of Covid-19, that the suspected individual is simultaneously treated with both the safety of the public and their own dignity in mind."
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Huang said assisting the FSM in combatting the virus is consistent with China Aid’s "fundamental principles of equality, mutual benefit, openness and sustainability."
“We are grateful to the assistance we receive from our development partners, which are invaluable
to us,” Taulung said. “These isolation units are a monumental accomplishment for all of us. I extend our utmost appreciation to you, Ambassador Huang, and to all of you who work so tirelessly to prepare the FSM for repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad whilst retaining our Covid-19 free status.”
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