The Middle East pleads with China for more help in its battle against COVID-19. China's Red Cross Society has sent five volunteer experts from China to help Iran and seven to help Iraq control the spread of the novel coronavirus, and that's not all. 

A detailed Q&A session on Tuesday addressed several concerns,  the main one being the shortage of masks for the Iranian public.

"Medical staff can only wear second-grade protective equipment in third-tier wards, and repeatedly. So, we request to provide masks and protective suits for their medical staff. But the public doesn't seem to have masks to wear in the short term; their capacity is very low, and prices are going up fast," said Zhou Xiaohang, leader of the volunteer group. 

Responding to what Zhou said, Chen Zhu, president of the Red Cross Society of China, told him to make a list of items they need.

 "This is very important," he said. "Report to the Chinese Embassy. Give us a list of demands. Under the current situation, wearing a mask is tantamount to getting a vaccine."

Chen says a cargo flight will depart from Shanghai to Tehran on Thursday, carrying 100 million U.S. dollars worth of machinery for treatment and test kits. 

Experts say Iran's testing capacity has increased, with 25 institutions able to conduct testing, compared to only three institutions nine days ago. But there is still a lack of test kits. They also say death rates in Iran have dropped in the last few days. Chinese experts are recommending that Iran use plasma from recovered patients to treat those in critical conditions. 

"Iranian people are heroic, and their blood donation rate is now lower than ours. If you explain the situation to them clearly, I believe recovered patients will help others with their plasma. You must recommend this to Iran very strongly," said Chen.

China has sent traditional Chinese medicine proven to be effective in treating the coronavirus to Iran. Experts say the Iranian side hopes to combine its own traditional herbs with these medicines in treatment plans. Leading epidemiologists in China have also provided support to the volunteer team. 

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and  Prevention, said arrangements have been made to provide test kits for Iran. 

"We'll meet Iran's needs, on the basis of not affecting domestic use," Gao said. 

"We have also translated control strategies to Persian, besides English. We'll collect published articles related to virus control and translate their abstracts into Persian," he said. 

Video conferences like this have been held many times since Chinese experts arrived in Iran late last month. New batches of medical supplies from China are on the way. 

The visitors have been sharing their most valuable experience of controlling COVID-19 in vivid detail, from prevention to testing to treatment.