PH Air Force to fly twice a day to China to speed up transport of P1.8B in PPE vs coronavirus
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Air Force will fly twice a day to Xiamen, China to speed up the transport of personal protective equipment that the Philippines bought for P1.8 billion.
Carlito Galvez Jr., National Plan Against COVID-19 chief enforcer, said at a press briefing on Tuesday (April 21) that the PAF would now fly twice daily to China to increase hauling capacity for PPE and to “have stockpiling of PPE and have a strategic reserve.”
The Philippine government had purchased 1 million PPE sets worth P1.8 billion from China to support health workers and those on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19.
Each PPE set consists of an N95 mask, goggles, coveralls, head cover, shoe cover, surgical mask, gloves and surgical gown.
But bringing home the medical gear had become a herculean task for the Philippine government.
Health Secretary Franciso Duque III earlier said that a single C-130 flight can carry up to 15,000 sets only.
Aside from C-130 flights, the Philippine government has also tapped Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to help bring home the PPE sets from China.
The Philippine Navy’s BRP Bacolod City (LS-550) left for Xiamen on Tuesday morning to pick up a batch of the medical gear. It is expected to return in one week.
Edited by TSB
For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.
