The UK expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia’s latest donation of “hundreds of thousands of medical gowns” to the country’s National Health Service (NHS), said Britain’s foreign secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday.
Both countries “will continue to work together to tackle this global pandemic,” tweeted Raab, who also tagged the King Salman Humanitarian Aid & Relief Centre (KSRelief) in his tweet.
The UK has been subject to criticism due to its lack of preparedness in its response to the pandemic such as a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers working on the frontlines of the deadly virus.
Very grateful to Saudi Arabia for the generous donation of hundreds of thousands of medical gowns to our NHS. and will continue to work together to tackle this global pandemic. @KSRelief_EN
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) June 14, 2020
Many family members of health workers who have died have complained that health professionals are not being given adequate PPE as they deal with coronavirus cases.
British Muslim doctor Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, who died of COVID-19, addressed this issue in an open letter to PM Boris Johnson two weeks before he passed. His 18-year-old son Intisar even called out Health Secretary Matt Hancock on a radio show for not acting upon his father’s recommendations: “Do you regret not taking my dad’s concerns, my 11-year-old sister’s concerns … seriously enough for my dad that we’ve all lost?”
The late Dr. Chowdhury and his family.
“Intisar, I’m really sorry about your dad’s death and I have seen the comments you’ve made and what you’ve said in public and I think it’s very brave of you,” Hancock replied.
After the United States and Brazil, Britain stands as the thirst highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world. The British government recorded an increase leading to 41,698 coronavirus deaths on June 14th.
It's COVID-19 vs. The World, and the #G20VirtualSummit made that clear.
— About Her (@AboutHerOFCL) March 28, 2020
Here are 10 things to note from the summit: https://t.co/pLJAuMLDea
Also a member of the G20, which is presided by Saudi Arabia, it is crucial that countries continue to work together and help each other in times of unprecedented crisis.
