TIRANA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A second group of 60 Albanian doctors and nurses have left for Italy to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, local media reported on Monday.

Albanian Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu and Italian Ambassador to Albania Fabrizio Bucci had accompanied the group to the Tirana International Airport before their departure.

"We are proud of this second group of health professionals who are going to Italy to help our neighboring country in the areas most affected by COVID-19," Manastirliu said.

Ambassador Bucci thanked the medical group for the "extraordinary gesture."

"You are the fighters who are fighting against this invisible enemy. The Italian people will never forget this gesture," Bucci said.

With Italy's health system under severe pressure from the COVID-19 outbreak, help is being flown in from Albania. A few weeks ago, Albania sent 30 doctors and nurses to Italy, who are currently working on the front line fighting COVID-19 in the hospitals of Brescia, a city in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, the worst hit area in the country.

Doctors and nurses who will contribute in Italian hospitals are part of the 3,000 volunteers who responded to the call of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in Albania to join the fight against COVID-19.

On Monday, health authorities reported 22 new coronavirus cases in Albania, bringing the total number to 584.

The number of recovered patients diagnosed with COVID-19 amounts to 327 and the number of fatalities stands at 26.

Among the total number of confirmed cases, 21 are children, health authorities said. As of Monday, the number of medical staff recovered from COVID-19 reached 40. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)