Taiwan donating 300,000 masks to help PH fight coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines—Taiwan is donating 300,000 face masks to the Philippines in an effort to help countries deal with a severe shortage of the personal protective equipment (PPE) against new coronavirus.

The donation was announced by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the Philippines.

Taiwanese state media said that the masks are expected to arrive in Manila via Eva Air on Wednesday (April 15).

The Taiwanese government earlier pledged to donate 10 million face masks to European countries, United States and diplomatic allies.

It later pledged to donate another 6 million masks to nations which are not in the first batch of recipients, which include the Philippines.

Demand for face masks outpaced supply, leading to shortages of the PPE worldwide, due to COVID-19. The surge in demand prompted producers to boost output.

Taiwan has been earning praises from health experts globally due to its early prevention methods in response to COVID-19, which originated in China.

So far Taiwan has recorded six deaths and 393 cases. On Tuesday (April 14), Taiwan reported no new COVID-19 case for the first time in a month.

Edited by TSB