180373cf84321623d0a40c.jpg (Photo : China Daily )
Since China was one of the first nations to send assistance to the Ebola-affected areas of West Africa in April 2014, the team of military medical workers that was part of the first dispatch returned to Chongqing, in their native homeland, on Friday morning.
The aid workers had traveled a total of 20 hours back after spending two months in Liberia.
Last month, David Nabarro, the UN anti-Ebola campaign coordinator, told reporters: "China is one of the countries that responded very quickly to the appeal by the Secretary-General for more help."
Between April and December, four rounds of humanitarian aid, with a total value of over $120 million, had been sent to Africa's Ebola-stricken region.
Additionally, hundreds of medical workers provided invaluable assistance on the viral frontline, and China's government offered another $10 million in cash to international organizations involved in the fight.
The team that returned this week consisted of 82 medical experts, doctors and nurses. Upon arrival, disinfection treatment and inspections were carried out on the returned military members, who were wearing masks when they stepped onto the tarmac. They will not be able to engage in any human contact for 21 days, as they will be quarantined until they are given permission to return to their loved ones.
Gao Zhanhu, political commissar of the Hospital Affiliated to the Third Military Medical University, said on the day of the team's arrival in China:
"Our medical workers are the pride of Chinese soldiers. . . . They traveled far to Liberia to help stop the rampant virus without thinking of their own safety. Their behavior and efforts won the trust and praise of the Liberian government and people."
A second team will also return later this month.
