300,000 Face Masks Donated by Taiwan Arrives in the Philippines

The 300,000 surgical face masks donated by Taiwan to the Philippines have arrived in Manila on Wednesday. This gesture aims to help the Philippines combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formal Acceptance of the Donation

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office’s (MECO) vice-chairman Gilberto Lauengco formally accepted the donation from Michael Hsu, a representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO). The event occurred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

The masks were delivered to the Philippines through EVA Air. Eva Air is one of the two major airlines in Taiwan.

Through a statement issued by MECO in behalf of the Philippine government expressed its appreciation for the kind effort to lend a helping hand to the Philippines with its battle against SARS-CoV-2.

Taiwan’s Commitment to Help Neighbors

The 300,000 mask donations are part of the 6 million face masks pledged by Taiwan to its neighboring countries on April 9. Additionally, Taiwan had previously promised to donate 10 million masks to different European nations, the United States of America, and other diplomatic allies.

COVID-19 Cases in the Philippines

As of Wednesday afternoon, The Philippines have reported a total of 5,453 individuals who testes positive for COVID-19 while 343 people had lost their battle against the illness.

The Need for More

As the cases continue to escalate in the Philippines, the need for more personal protective equipment also rises as more and more frontline health personnel is contracting the deadly novel coronavirus.

At least 20 Filipino doctors have already lost their lives due to COVID-19, says a data originating from the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines.

Currently, Luzon is still under lockdown. It is the government’s measure to prevent the further spread of the deadly disease.

Observations

According to the observations of Angelito Banayo, MECO’s chairman, in Taiwan, the measures that it had implemented such as mass testing, intensive tracking, right health care treatment and transparency had allowed the country to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2.