A Saudi aircraft laden with five high-quality oxygen generators arrived in Tunisia Saturday as a part of the Saudi airlift, being operated by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), to contribute to combating the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This comes in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. The plane was received by Saudi Arabia's Ambassador Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Ali Al-Saqr; Tunisian Minister of Health Ali Merabet; Advisor at the Tunisian Presidency Walid Al-Hajjam; Tunisian Director General of Military Health Department Mustafa Al-Ferjani and a number of officials. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Tunisian Minister of Health Merabet expressed sincere thanks to the leadership of Saudi Arabia for the continuous provision of medical aid to Tunisia to support its fight against the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He pointed out that these generators could remain in service for up to 15 years. Additionally, these generators' contribution will not be limited to the coronavirus patients, but will also serve the entire health system in Tunisia. For his part, the Tunisian Director General of Military Health Department stressed the importance of these high-quality generators in supporting the Tunisian health system, which has suffered greatly from the lack of oxygen. In the same context, he saluted the Saudi technical team who will install the generators, train Tunisian teams, and provide maintenance work for a period of two years, praising at the same time the Saudi team's high expertise. Advisor at the Tunisian Presidency said that the new batch of Saudi medical aid to Tunisia represents a new push for the noble Saudi support and solidarity with Tunisia in response to a previous request by Tunisian President Kais Saied during a telephone call with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense. He added that this new batch represents a qualitative leap and vital support for Tunisia in its response to the pandemic, as it will provide sustainable services to Tunisian hospitals. For his part, Brig. Gen. Abduljabbar Al-Jalouli of the Tunisian Military Health Department said that the five high-quality oxygen generators will be distributed to five Tunisian hospitals, stressing the great importance of these generators, which will enable five hospitals to be completed independence in the production of oxygen and the service of COVID-19 patients within the hospital. He said that the high technology of the five generators would solve a major problem that the Tunisian health system has suffered, which is the provision and transport of oxygen. The hospitals, with these generators, will be able to produce oxygen on the spot. The generators can also produce significant quantities of oxygen to be filled into cylinders and distributed to other hospitals. For his part, the Saudi Ambassador said that Saudi Arabia has spared no effort to stand with friendly countries in various crises and circumstances. This aid comes within the framework of the assistance being provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief, to support international efforts to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. — SPA
