Lin Bingliang (front), a member of the Chinese medical expert team, also an epidemiologist from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sun University, speaks at a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, June 10, 2020. After spending almost three months in Serbia helping fight the COVID-19 epidemic there, the Chinese medical expert team departed from Belgrade airport early Thursday with good wishes from Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. A sendoff for the six-strong team was held on Wednesday evening when they met with Brnabic, who later personally escorted them to the airport. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)
BELGRADE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- After spending almost three months in Serbia helping fight the COVID-19 epidemic there, the Chinese medical expert team departed from Belgrade airport early Thursday with good wishes from Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.
A sendoff for the six-strong team was held on Wednesday evening when they met with Brnabic, who later personally escorted them to the airport.
Brnabic said that the Chinese expert team served in Serbia for 82 days and thanked China and its leadership, as well as the medical team for playing "a key role in Serbia's battle against COVID-19" by transferring their knowledge and experience.
The team arrived on March 21, just 15 days after Serbia confirmed the presence of the virus, she recalled. The plane they travelled in also carried much-needed medical supplies including protective gears and ventilators for Serbia.
The Chinese experts "came here to transfer their knowledge and their experience, and to invest here their enormous energy and love, touring the country and managing to hold 150 meetings and activities with our healthcare workers in our facilities," said the Serbian head of government.
Lin Bingliang, an epidemiologist from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sun University, said that the team worked hard to justify the trust of Serbian people and visited 22 cities and more than 70 institutions.
Noting that the number of difficult cases and the death toll in Serbia have been low compared with the global situation, he said he was satisfied with the results.
However, he warned of the remaining risks that require prevention and control measures in the future.
"Although we are leaving Serbia and returning to our homeland, our hearts will remain with Serbia. We will continue to look after each other and mutually support each other. We wish all the best to Serbia and its people," he said.
Chen Bo, Chinese ambassador to Serbia, said that the Chinese medical expert team successfully fulfilled its mission and shared their experience in prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19.
"Wherever there was a hotbed, our experts were there - from Subotica to Vranje and from Loznica to Zajecar, across more than 20,000 km. We can say that the medical expert team has become a symbol of solidarity between our people in the battle against COVID-19," she said.
For their dedicated work, all members of the team were previously awarded military memorial medals.
The COVID-19 epidemic in Serbia started on March 6. The country lifted the state of emergency on May 6 due to a low ratio of infection among tested people.
Currently, there are 432 active cases of COVID-19 in Serbia. Some 250 people died of the disease since the epidemic began.
