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China attempts to help the global community to fight Covid 19

Recovered coronavirus patients across China donate plasma to save more

Recovered coronavirus patients across China donate plasma to save more people after convalescent plasma was found effective in curing patients in severe and critical conditions.

thank you, Chinaaaaa! :)
 
To say a fair word. It's American who start the salvo by accusing all kind of accusation that it's China and virus originate from Wuhan. They even ask China to pay for all the cost and losses for this virus issue. Now further study had reveal the true origin of the virus and why US keep refuse to reveal of their ground zero patient of how coronavirus spread in US. If they is already a war, the China never start it first. From afagnistan invasion, Iraq invasion, Libya civil war, Syria war and now trade war. I don't think we need a genuis to tell us who is the warmonger who start all this.

The funny thing is somehow the accuser will always play victim as claim suffer from all this saga while the real victim/the one who never pick the fight in the first place, painted as the bad guy who is the troublemaker.
It was purely a natural case. I want you not to repeat the same thing.
Let us become each other's strength and hope for the best.
Regards
 
China’s fight against the coronavirus opens up diplomatic opportunities
  • 35 MINUTES AGO
  • Beijing extended a helping hand to Italy at a time when the country was snubbed by its European allies in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
When the Italian ambassador to the EU, Maurizio Massari, asked for more assistance and solidarity from the bloc to fight the coronavirus epidemic, not a single one answered his call.

China did, however.

It was quick to send Italy 1,000 lung ventilators, 2 million face masks, 20,000 protective suits and 50,000 swabs for coronavirus tests, while the country itself battled with the virus, which first emerged in its Wuhan province in December.

Massari in an open letter to the other EU member states pleaded for “solidarity” and that “Rome should not be left to handle this crisis alone.”

The EU bloc should move “beyond engagement and consultations” added Massari as Italy struggles to contain coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people and infected more 15,000 thousand.

Germany and France were recently condemned by other EU member states for blocking the export of vital medical supplies, calling into question the blocs solidarity in times of crises.

Disappointed over lack of support from fellow Europeans, Massari said: “Only China responded bilaterally. Certainly, this is not a good sign of European solidarity.”

The Chinese Embassy in Italy has used the opportunity to display its diplomatic prowess to shore up its image in a country that became the first G7 country to sign up to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, a 21st century Silk Road.

As Trump announced that the US was closing its borders with the EU, a plane from China carrying 30 tons of aid landed in Rome. The significance of these two actions will not be lost to US allies.

Germany which has seen more than 3,000 cases and seven deaths and in the midst of a transition of power, has struggled to provide a unified EU response to the outbreak.

In Cyprus, a country that has seen 14 cases of the virus the Chinese Ambassador Huang Xingyuan said on his Twitter account “As a longstanding friend and partner, #China is ready to assist #Cyprus in its fight against COVID-19.”

While Cyprus has had no deaths, the Ambassador went on to say “The Chinese Embassy has mobilized all possible resources including the Chinese companies and communities in Cyprus to collect materials across China for most relevant purposes.”

As many European countries seize up, China which has slowly managed to get the virus under control, is now seeking to craft a global role for itself in tackling the crises.

China is also sending medical teams to Iraq to help contain the spread of the virus. In contrast, Iraq has condemned the US for conducting airstrikes in the country against militias without prior authorisation.

For Iran, another country that is struggling to contain the virus and has seen more than 500 deaths, China is the only country to have come to its aid.

China has sent medical teams and supplies to the country in a bid to strengthen its friendship and relationship.

Attempts by China to help other countries have also been expanded to international organisations in a bid to show international leadership.

Early last month the Trump administration proposed cutting the US’s contribution to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by half in a belief that such organisations are ineffective.

China, on the other hand, is seeking to showcase itself as a responsible player in the international order. As the Coronavirus continues to spread in Europe, Beijing is offering $20 million to WHO to prevent and control the spread of the virus.

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/c...virus-opens-up-diplomatic-opportunities-34532
 
China pledges international pandemic aid
Producers of medical goods urged to meet demand from affected countries.
Written by China Daily
Updated: March 13, 2020
xi.jpeg

China has pledged to do its best to offer aid to countries and international organisations affected by COVID-19 to help contain the outbreak, and businesses are being urged to boost production of epidemic prevention materials to meet demand from abroad.

The announcement was made at a meeting of the leading group of China’s coronavirus response, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

Relevant departments and local authorities must step up co-ordination to closely monitor and analyse the quick spread of the outbreak outside China and roll out more targeted measures to prevent the import and export of infection, the group said in a statement.

It is important to further promote co-ordinated control and prevention measures between countries and bolster efforts in areas such as data sharing, quarantine controls at ports and emergency response, the statement said.

The meeting called for capable businesses in China to boost production of materials for containing the outbreak and meet commercial demand from other countries while ensuring that domestic supply is guaranteed. It also required support from authorities as an important part of international co-operation to enable better co-ordination.

The group’s decision came as the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on Wednesday.

The group reckoned that key periodic outcomes have been achieved in containing the outbreak in Hubei province and Wuhan, the province’s capital and the outbreak’s epicentre.

Medical treatment must continue to be the top priority in the province and the city, with greater efforts to be made in treating patients in critical condition and containment measures inside communities, the statement said.

It urged authorities to use substitute medical workers to fill in for those who have gone without sufficient rest as soon as possible and to meticulously ensure the basic living standards of the public as well as access to healthcare for patients with other illnesses.

The meeting highlighted the need for regular visits to special groups placed in isolation to help solve their practical problems.

Local authorities must conduct thorough surveys of children who lost parents or guardians due to the epidemic and designate special caregivers for them, the statement said.

The government will set up a special program of psychological support. Patients, their family members and those who lost loved ones in Hubei and Wuhan will be the key target group of the program, it added.

https://asianews.network/2020/03/13/china-pledges-international-pandemic-aid/
 
China Makes the Masks the World Needs. It Is Just Starting to Share.
As China grappled with the coronavirus, it kept the masks it made. Now that other nations need them, pressure is rising on Beijing to resume exports.
  • March 13, 2020, 11:55 a.m. ET
SHANGHAI — As hospitals and governments hunt desperately for respirators and surgical masks to protect doctors and nurses from the coronavirus pandemic, they face a difficult reality: The world depends on China to make them, and the country is only beginning to share.

China made half the world’s masks before the coronavirus emerged there, and it has expanded production nearly 12-fold since then. But it has claimed mask factory output for itself. Purchases and donations also brought China a big chunk of the world’s supply from elsewhere.

Now, worries about mask supplies are rising. As the virus’s global spread escalates, governments around the world are restricting exports of protective gear, which experts say could worsen the pandemic.

That has put growing pressure on China to meet the world’s needs, even as it continues to grapple with the coronavirus itself. Although government data suggests China has brought infection rates under control, epidemiologists warn that its outbreak could flare again as officials loosen travel limits and more people return to work.

Peter Navarro, an adviser to President Trump on manufacturing and trade, contended on Fox Business last month that China had essentially taken over factories that make masks on behalf of American companies. Beijing, he said, had opted to “nationalize effectively 3M, our company.”

In a statement, the Minnesota-based manufacturer said most of the masks it makes at its factory in Shanghai had been sold within China even before the outbreak. It declined to comment on when exports from China might resume.

China may be easing its grip as the world’s needs grow. Tan Qunhong, the general manager of a small manufacturer of disposable masks in central China, said that she had filled the government’s purchase orders and was starting to resume exports. The Chinese government is also shipping masks abroad as part of goodwill packages.

Other manufacturers say the Chinese government is still claiming all the masks that their factories in the country make. “Mask exports are still not authorized, but we are following the situation every day,” said Guillaume Laverdure, chief operating officer of Medicom, a Canadian manufacturer that makes three million masks a day at its Shanghai factory.

Much as it dominates manufacturing of cars, steel, electronics and other necessities, China is essential to the world’s supply of protective medical gear. Most of what it makes are the disposable surgical masks worn by health professionals. It makes a smaller number of N95 respirator masks, which provide more filtration for doctors and nurses.

The general public does not need to wear masks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But demand for surgical masks has skyrocketed in China, where the police require anyone who goes out in public to wear a mask.

Though companies say China is claiming virtually all mask output, the Chinese government said it had never issued a regulation prohibiting mask exports and was willing to work with other countries to share.

“We fully understand the stress and problems that relevant countries are facing at this moment regarding the epidemic, and we are willing to strengthen international cooperation,” said Li Xingqian, the vice director of international trade at China’s Commerce Ministry, in a written reply to questions.

China did not just stop selling masks — it also bought up much of the rest of the world’s supply. According to official data, China imported 56 million respirators and masks in the first week after the January lockdown of the city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus emerged.

On Jan. 30, the last day for which data is available, China managed to import 20 million respirators and surgical masks in just 24 hours. Through February, civic-minded entrepreneurs and aid groups visited pharmacies in affluent countries and emerging markets alike, buying masks in bulk to send to China.

Global companies and charities donated, too. Honeywell provided 500,000 N95 respirator masks, and 3M donated a million of them. Honeywell said its contribution came from stockpiles in China, while 3M declined to identify the source of its donations.

3M also donated a second shipment of respirators, but declined to say how many that included. The charitable foundation of Bristol Myers Squibb bought an additional 220,000 N95 respirators for doctors and nurses at the center of the outbreak.

Since then, China has undertaken a mobilization of wartime proportions to expand its output of disposable surgical masks. Daily production soared from about 10 million at the start of February to 115 million at the end of the month, according to the Chinese government.

Yuan Fajun, the secretary general of the medical materials committee at the China Medical Pharmaceutical Material Association, said manufacturers still needed to produce another 230 million surgical masks for the domestic market. But the recent surge in production means that those orders can be met and exports should be possible, he said.

Hundreds of small companies have started making masks. A General Motors joint venture in southwestern China built 20 of its own mask-making machines and began bulk production.

Yet production of N95 respirator masks has barely increased, to 1.66 million per day. They require a special fabric that is in short supply.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/business/masks-china-coronavirus.html
 
Asia’s richest man to donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and 1 million masks to U.S
March 13, 2020Sky Palma

jack-ma.jpeg

The richest man in Asia, Jack Ma, is planning to ship 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to the U.S. in an effort to combat the growing coronavirus pandemic, POLITICO reports.

Testing delays have been a constant problem across the U.S. as the outbreak spreads, sparking concerns that the number of Americans infected is being grossly underreported.

“Drawing from my own country’s experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus,” read a statement from Ma’s charitable organization. “We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/as...irus-testing-kits-and-1-million-masks-to-u-s/
 
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/05/...-wildlife-consumption-ban-intl-hnk/index.html
China has made eating wild animals illegal after the coronavirus outbreak. But ending the trade won't be easy
Hong Kong (CNN)A strict ban on the consumption and farming of wild animals is being rolled out across China in the wake of the deadly coronavirus epidemic, which is believed to have started at a wildlife market in Wuhan.

Although it is unclear which animal transferred the virus to humans -- bat, snake and pangolin have all been suggested -- China has acknowledged it needs to bring its lucrative wildlife industry under control if it is to prevent another outbreak.
In late February, it slapped a temporary ban on all farming and consumption of "terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value," which is expected to be signed into law later this year.
But ending the trade will be hard. The cultural roots of China's use of wild animals run deep, not just for food but also for traditional medicine, clothing, ornaments and even pets.
This isn't the first time Chinese officials have tried to contain the trade. In 2003, civets -- mongoose-type creatures -- were banned and culled in large numbers after it was discovered they likely transferred the SARS virus to humans. The selling of snakes was also briefly banned in Guangzhou after the SARS outbreak.
But today dishes using the animals are still eaten in parts of China.
Public health experts say the ban is an important first step, but are calling on Beijing to seize this crucial opportunity to close loopholes -- such as the use of wild animals in traditional Chinese medicine -- and begin to change cultural attitudes in China around consuming wildlife.

Markets with exotic animals
The Wuhan seafood market at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak was selling a lot more than fish.
Snakes, raccoon dogs, porcupines and deer were just some of the species crammed inside cages, side by side with shoppers and store owners, according to footage obtained by CNN. Some animals were filmed being slaughtered in the market in front of customers. CNN hasn't been able to independently verify the footage, which was posted to Weibo by a concerned citizen, and has since been deleted by government censors.
It is somewhere in this mass of wildlife that scientists believe the novel coronavirus likely first spread to humans. The disease has now infected more than 94,000 people and killed more than 3,200 around the world.
The Wuhan market was not unusual. Across mainland China, hundreds of similar markets offer a wide range of exotic animals for a range of purposes.
The danger of an outbreak comes when many exotic animals from different environments are kept in close proximity.
"These animals have their own viruses," said Hong Kong University virologist professor Leo Poon. "These viruses can jump from one species to another species, then that species may become an amplifier, which increases the amount of virus in the wet market substantially."
When a large number of people visit markets selling these animals each day, Poon said the risk of the virus jumping to humans rises sharply.
Poon was one of the first scientists to decode the SARS coronavirus during the epidemic in 2003. It was linked to civet cats kept for food in a Guangzhou market, but Poon said researchers still wonder whether SARS was transmitted to the cats from another species.
"(Farmed civet cats) didn't have the virus, suggesting they acquired it in the markets from another animal," he said.

Strength and status

Annie Huang, a 24-year-old college student from southern Guangxi province, said she and her family regularly visit restaurants that serve wild animals.
She said eating wildlife, such as boar and peacock, is considered good for your health, because diners also absorb the animals' physical strength and resilience.
Exotic animals can also be an important status symbol. "Wild animals are expensive. If you treat somebody with wild animals, it will be considered that you're paying tribute," she said. A single peacock can cost as much as 800 yuan ($144).
Huang asked to use a pseudonym when speaking about the newly-illegal trade because of her views on eating wild animals.
She said she doubted the ban would be effective in the long run. "The trade might lay low for a few months ... but after a while, probably in a few months, people would very possibly come back again," she said
Beijing hasn't released a full list of the wild animals included in the ban, but the current Wildlife Protection Law gives some clues as to what could be banned. That law classifies wolves, civet cats and partridges as wildlife, and states that authorities "should take measures" to protect them, with little information on specific restrictions.
The new ban makes exemptions for "livestock," and in the wake of the ruling animals including pigeons and rabbits are being reclassified as livestock to allow their trade to continue.

Billion-dollar industry
Attempts to control the spread of diseases are also hindered by the fact that the industry for exotic animals in China, especially wild ones, is enormous.
A government-sponsored report in 2017 by the Chinese Academy of Engineering found the country's wildlife trade was worth more than $73 billion and employed more than one million people.
Since the virus hit in December, almost 20,000 wildlife farms across seven Chinese provinces have been shut down or put under quarantine, including breeders specializing in peacocks, foxes, deer and turtles, according to local government press releases.
It isn't clear what effect the ban might have on the industry's future -- but there are signs China's population may have already been turning away from eating wild animals even before the epidemic.
A study by Beijing Normal University and the China Wildlife Conservation Association in 2012, found that in China's major cities, a third of people had used wild animals in their lifetime for food, medicine or clothing -- only slightly less than in their previous survey in 2004.
However, the researchers also found that just over 52% of total respondents agreed that wildlife should not be consumed. It was even higher in Beijing, where more than 80% of residents were opposed to wildlife consumption.
In comparison, about 42% of total respondents were against the practice during the previous survey in 2004.
Since the coronavirus epidemic, there has been vocal criticism of the trade in exotic animals and calls for a crackdown. A group of 19 academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leading universities even jointly issued a public statement calling for an end to the trade, saying it should be treated as a "public safety issue."
"The vast majority of people within China react to the abuse of wildlife in the way people in other countries do -- with anger and revulsion," said Aron White, wildlife campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency.
"I think we should listen to those voices that are calling for change and support those voices."

Traditional medicine loophole
A significant barrier to a total ban on the wildlife trade is the use of exotic animals in traditional Chinese medicine.
Beijing has been strongly promoting the use of traditional Chinese medicine under President Xi Jinping and the industry is now worth an estimated $130 billion.
As recently as October 2019, state-run media China Daily reported Xi as saying that "traditional medicine is a treasure of Chinese civilization embodying the wisdom of the nation and its people."
Many species that are eaten as food in parts of China are also used in the country's traditional medicine.
The new ban makes an exception made for wild animals used in traditional Chinese medicine. According to the ruling, the use of wildlife is not illegal for this, but now must be "strictly monitored." The announcement doesn't make it clear, however, how this monitoring will occur or what the penalties are for inadequate protection of wild animals, leaving the door open to abuse.
A 2014 study by the Beijing Normal University and the China Wildlife Conservation Association found that while deer is eaten as a meat, the animal's penis and blood are also used in medicine. Both bears and snakes are used for both food and medicine.
Wildlife campaigner Aron White said that under the new restrictions there was a risk of wildlife being sold or bred for medicine, but then trafficked for food. He said the Chinese government needed to avoid loopholes by extending the ban to all vulnerable wildlife, regardless of use.
"(Currently), the law bans the eating of pangolins but doesn't ban the use of their scales in traditional Chinese medicine," he said. "The impact of that is that overall the consumers are receiving are mixed messages."
The line between which animals are used for meat and which are used for medicine is also already very fine, because often people eat animals for perceived health benefits.
In a study published in International Health in February, US and Chinese researchers surveyed attitudes among rural citizens in China's southern provinces to eating wild animals.
One 40-year-old peasant farmer in Guangdong says eating bats can prevent cancer. Another man says they can improve your vitality.
"'I hurt my waist very seriously, it was painful, and I could not bear the air conditioner. One day, one of my friends made some snake soup and I had three bowls of it, and my waist obviously became better. Otherwise, I could not sit here for such a long time with you," a 67-year-old Guangdong farmer told interviewers in the study.

Changing the culture
China's rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, will meet later this year to officially alter the Wildlife Protection Law. A spokesman for the body's Standing Committee said the current ban is just a temporary measure until the new wording in the law can be drafted and approved.
Hong Kong virologist Leo Poon said the government has a big decision to make on whether it officially ends the trade in wild animals in China or simply tries to find safer options.
"If this is part of Chinese culture, they still want to consume a particular exotic animal, then the country can decide to keep this culture, that's okay," he said.
"(But) then they have to come up with another policy -- how can we provide clean meat from that exotic animal to the public? Should it be domesticated? Should we do more checking or inspection? Implement some biosecurity measures?" he said.
An outright ban could raise just as many questions and issues. Ecohealth Alliance president Peter Daszak said if the trade was quickly made illegal, it would push it out of wet markets in the cities, creating black markets in rural communities where it is easier to hide the animals from the authorities.
Driven underground, the illegal trade of wild animals for consumption and medicine could become even more dangerous.
"Then we'll see (virus) outbreaks begin not in markets this time, but in rural communities," Daszak said. "(And) people won't talk to authorities because it is actually illegal."
Poon said the final effectiveness of the ban may depend on the government's willpower to enforce the law. "Culture cannot be changed overnight, it takes time," he said.

 
Last edited:
China Makes the Masks the World Needs. It Is Just Starting to Share.
As China grappled with the coronavirus, it kept the masks it made. Now that other nations need them, pressure is rising on Beijing to resume exports.
  • March 13, 2020, 11:55 a.m. ET
SHANGHAI — As hospitals and governments hunt desperately for respirators and surgical masks to protect doctors and nurses from the coronavirus pandemic, they face a difficult reality: The world depends on China to make them, and the country is only beginning to share.

China made half the world’s masks before the coronavirus emerged there, and it has expanded production nearly 12-fold since then. But it has claimed mask factory output for itself. Purchases and donations also brought China a big chunk of the world’s supply from elsewhere.

Now, worries about mask supplies are rising. As the virus’s global spread escalates, governments around the world are restricting exports of protective gear, which experts say could worsen the pandemic.

That has put growing pressure on China to meet the world’s needs, even as it continues to grapple with the coronavirus itself. Although government data suggests China has brought infection rates under control, epidemiologists warn that its outbreak could flare again as officials loosen travel limits and more people return to work.

Peter Navarro, an adviser to President Trump on manufacturing and trade, contended on Fox Business last month that China had essentially taken over factories that make masks on behalf of American companies. Beijing, he said, had opted to “nationalize effectively 3M, our company.”

In a statement, the Minnesota-based manufacturer said most of the masks it makes at its factory in Shanghai had been sold within China even before the outbreak. It declined to comment on when exports from China might resume.

China may be easing its grip as the world’s needs grow. Tan Qunhong, the general manager of a small manufacturer of disposable masks in central China, said that she had filled the government’s purchase orders and was starting to resume exports. The Chinese government is also shipping masks abroad as part of goodwill packages.

Other manufacturers say the Chinese government is still claiming all the masks that their factories in the country make. “Mask exports are still not authorized, but we are following the situation every day,” said Guillaume Laverdure, chief operating officer of Medicom, a Canadian manufacturer that makes three million masks a day at its Shanghai factory.

Much as it dominates manufacturing of cars, steel, electronics and other necessities, China is essential to the world’s supply of protective medical gear. Most of what it makes are the disposable surgical masks worn by health professionals. It makes a smaller number of N95 respirator masks, which provide more filtration for doctors and nurses.

The general public does not need to wear masks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But demand for surgical masks has skyrocketed in China, where the police require anyone who goes out in public to wear a mask.

Though companies say China is claiming virtually all mask output, the Chinese government said it had never issued a regulation prohibiting mask exports and was willing to work with other countries to share.

“We fully understand the stress and problems that relevant countries are facing at this moment regarding the epidemic, and we are willing to strengthen international cooperation,” said Li Xingqian, the vice director of international trade at China’s Commerce Ministry, in a written reply to questions.

China did not just stop selling masks — it also bought up much of the rest of the world’s supply. According to official data, China imported 56 million respirators and masks in the first week after the January lockdown of the city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus emerged.

On Jan. 30, the last day for which data is available, China managed to import 20 million respirators and surgical masks in just 24 hours. Through February, civic-minded entrepreneurs and aid groups visited pharmacies in affluent countries and emerging markets alike, buying masks in bulk to send to China.

Global companies and charities donated, too. Honeywell provided 500,000 N95 respirator masks, and 3M donated a million of them. Honeywell said its contribution came from stockpiles in China, while 3M declined to identify the source of its donations.

3M also donated a second shipment of respirators, but declined to say how many that included. The charitable foundation of Bristol Myers Squibb bought an additional 220,000 N95 respirators for doctors and nurses at the center of the outbreak.

Since then, China has undertaken a mobilization of wartime proportions to expand its output of disposable surgical masks. Daily production soared from about 10 million at the start of February to 115 million at the end of the month, according to the Chinese government.

Yuan Fajun, the secretary general of the medical materials committee at the China Medical Pharmaceutical Material Association, said manufacturers still needed to produce another 230 million surgical masks for the domestic market. But the recent surge in production means that those orders can be met and exports should be possible, he said.

Hundreds of small companies have started making masks. A General Motors joint venture in southwestern China built 20 of its own mask-making machines and began bulk production.

Yet production of N95 respirator masks has barely increased, to 1.66 million per day. They require a special fabric that is in short supply.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/business/masks-china-coronavirus.html

while i don't want to tell the Chinese government, leaderships or people what to do,
i think the rest of the world has a good point here, especially between now and the next 4 months or so.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/05/...-wildlife-consumption-ban-intl-hnk/index.html
China has made eating wild animals illegal after the coronavirus outbreak.

that settles the whole 'who did it' question, at least for me.
i say it was nature itself which caused the outbreak.
 
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Very good. It's like a Thai hooker going to Vatican City to confess her sins to the Pop and expecting to be named a Saint.
You sure you slummies can afford our 1$ masks? Lol

It makes no diff, you are gonna die of diarrhea anyway.
 
China sends essential coronavirus supplies to Italy
China steps in to help Italy in its time of need as wealthy businessman Jack Ma offers to donate supplies to the US.

5 hours ago

bc7fc5fc3a88467799df947d9ffbe45a_18.jpg

A Chinese team of experts pose for a photograph with head of the Italian Red Cross Francesco Rocca after arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport with a consignment of medical supplies [Aeroporti di Roma (AdR)/Handout via Reuters]

A planeload of medical supplies, including masks and respirators from China, has arrived in Italy from China to help the European country deal with its growing coronavirus crisis.

The coronavirus outbreak began in China late last year, but has since swept the globe.

Italy is now the worst-affected nation in the world after China, since the contagion came to light there on February 21.

The outbreak risks overwhelming Italian hospitals, and some key supplies are running low.

In contrast to China, Italy's partners in the European Union earlier this month refused Rome's requests for help with medical supplies as they looked to stockpile face masks and other equipment to help their own citizens.

A team of nine Chinese medical staff arrived late on Thursday with some 30 tonnes of equipment on a flight organised by the Red Cross Society of China.

"In this moment of great stress, of great difficulty, we are relieved to have this arrival of supplies. It is true that it will help only temporarily, but it is still important," said the head of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca.

"We have a desperate need for these masks right now. We need respirators that the Red Cross will donate to the government. This is for sure a really important donation for our country," Rocca said.

In a separate development, Chinese businessman Jack Ma, who is the founder of the Alibaba Group and among the world's richest people, offered to donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million masks to the United States, which on Friday declared a national emergency over the outbreak.

In a statement on Twitter, Jack Ma said: "Drawing from my own country's experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus."

"We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!"

Over the past weeks, Ma's organisations have helped provide similar supplies to virus-hit countries such as Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Spain.

"The pandemic we face today can no longer be resolved by any individual country," Ma said. "We can't beat this virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ronavirus-supplies-italy-200313195241031.html
 
China's Heilongjiang Province donates 20,000 masks to Japan's Hokkaido

 
China sends essential coronavirus supplies to Italy
China steps in to help Italy in its time of need as wealthy businessman Jack Ma offers to donate supplies to the US.

5 hours ago

bc7fc5fc3a88467799df947d9ffbe45a_18.jpg

A Chinese team of experts pose for a photograph with head of the Italian Red Cross Francesco Rocca after arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport with a consignment of medical supplies [Aeroporti di Roma (AdR)/Handout via Reuters]

A planeload of medical supplies, including masks and respirators from China, has arrived in Italy from China to help the European country deal with its growing coronavirus crisis.

The coronavirus outbreak began in China late last year, but has since swept the globe.

Italy is now the worst-affected nation in the world after China, since the contagion came to light there on February 21.

The outbreak risks overwhelming Italian hospitals, and some key supplies are running low.

In contrast to China, Italy's partners in the European Union earlier this month refused Rome's requests for help with medical supplies as they looked to stockpile face masks and other equipment to help their own citizens.

A team of nine Chinese medical staff arrived late on Thursday with some 30 tonnes of equipment on a flight organised by the Red Cross Society of China.

"In this moment of great stress, of great difficulty, we are relieved to have this arrival of supplies. It is true that it will help only temporarily, but it is still important," said the head of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca.

"We have a desperate need for these masks right now. We need respirators that the Red Cross will donate to the government. This is for sure a really important donation for our country," Rocca said.

In a separate development, Chinese businessman Jack Ma, who is the founder of the Alibaba Group and among the world's richest people, offered to donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million masks to the United States, which on Friday declared a national emergency over the outbreak.

In a statement on Twitter, Jack Ma said: "Drawing from my own country's experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus."

"We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!"

Over the past weeks, Ma's organisations have helped provide similar supplies to virus-hit countries such as Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Spain.

"The pandemic we face today can no longer be resolved by any individual country," Ma said. "We can't beat this virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ronavirus-supplies-italy-200313195241031.html

it's great, truly great, to see this level of cooperation between the larger nations on Earth, and by that, between the entire medical industries of Earth :)
 
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