UAE Delivers Medical Aid to Azerbaijan Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

The UAE government is supporting Azerbaijan's efforts to contain spread of Covid-19 with a recent donation of medical supplies to the Caspian country.

An aid plane carrying eleven metric tons of medical supplies left the Gulf country for Azerbaijan on Sunday, according to Gulf Today. The health goods will reportedly help 11,000 healthcare professionals in the Caspian country slow down the rising contagion.

"Solidarity and cooperation among the world's nations is the only way to overcome the impact of COVID-19 pandemic," Ambassador of Azerbaijan to UAE, Mahir Aliyev said, conveying Baku's appreciation to the officials in Abu-Dhabi, Emirates News Agency reported.

Mohammed Ahmed Hamel Al Qubaisi, UAE Ambassador to Azerbaijan, said in his turn that the cornerstone of assisting Azerbaijan in recent challenging days is a common vision shared by the two countries and mutual support on many regional and international matters.

"The dispatch of medical aid aircraft today is a testament to the UAE leadership's adoption of a supportive approach to friendly countries in various circumstances, especially in light of the challenges the world is now facing in the fight against the pandemic," Al Qubaisi explained.

Azerbaijan joined 67 countries that have received a total of 946 metric tons of medical supplies from the Emirates to date. The overall number of healthcare staff working with those medical supplies is slightly less than one million or 946,000.

As of June 22, Azerbaijan registered 13,207 confirmed COVID-19 cases, after 478 more cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The country's virus death toll is 161, while 7,168 patients have recovered from the viral infection. Currently, there are 5,878 active coronavirus cases in Azerbaijan. A total of 426,394 tests have been conducted to date.

The government in Baku has recently extended the lockdown until August 1 due to a increasing number of Covid-19 cases. Borders of the country will not re-open until the same date. With the exception of charter flights, no incoming or outgoing air travel is permitted.

Azerbaijan has received medical supplies from the World Health Organization to curb the spread of Covid-19. The first batch of WHO aid reached the country in February, as the second portion was being shipped in March. In April, the Chinese influential Jack Ma Foundation and Ali Baba Foundation donated medical supplies, including medical masks, test kits, artificial respiration devices, protective clothing, and infrared thermometers.

The US Department of State and USAID provided Azerbaijan with $3.6 million and $1.7 million in financial support in March and May of this year, respectively. The assistance aimed to help government of Azerbaijan enhance laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications and more.