MANILA, Philippines — China will be donating thousands of testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPE) and masks to the Philippines as the country grapples with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Manila’s top diplomat said.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian informed him of China’s donation.
“Amb(assador) Huang texted me that China will send 100,000 testing kits; 10,000 N95 masks; PPEs 10,000; surgical masks 100,000,” Locsin said.
@DFAPHL per my talk w/ FM Wang Yi, Amb Huang texted me that China will send 100,000 testing kits; 10,000 N95 masks; PPEs 10,000; surgical masks 100,000. Notifying DOH. Notifying Customs of perishability of kits and imperative of cold temperature. Thank you, my brother.
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) March 18, 2020
“Notifying DOH (Department of Health). Notifying (the Bureau of) Customs of perishability of kits and imperative of cold temperature,” he added.
Locsin said China would be chartering a flight to the Philippines to be able to send the donations.
“China getting chartered flight by weekend; mysteriously there are no Philippine flights,” he said.
China getting chartered flight by weekend; mysteriously there are no Philippine flights. I am asked to please alert Customs to let donation through pronto—and the rest of the bureaucracy not to throw a monkey wrench. Dear Thor, please, prepare your lightning bolts. https://t.co/puudrOWnlZ
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) March 18, 2020
“I am asked to please alert Customs to let donation through pronto—and the rest of the bureaucracy not to throw a monkey wrench. Dear Thor, please, prepare your lightning bolts,” he added.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said it is closely coordinating with the DOH “to ensure a speedy receiving of the aforesaid donations.”
President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier placed the Philippines under a state of calamity as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 187 on Tuesday.
Of the number, at least 14 have died from the disease.
The COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, whose surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.
Worldwide, over 168,000 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, with at least 6,506 dead.