Two Taiwanese groups in the Philippines have donated urgently needed masks to local healthcare efforts in a bid to help contain COVID-19.
The Taiwanese Compatriot Association on Wednesday gave more than 5,000 masks to the Philippines Department of Health, association supervisor Edison Lin (林坤城) said.
The association has pledged to donate 10,000 masks to the Philippines, Lin said, adding that because of supply issues, the donation would be divided into two batches.
The masks would help the Philippines battle the coronavirus, as well as promote goodwill between Taiwanese and Filipinos, Lin added.
The virus has had a considerable effect on people in the Philippines, including Taiwanese businesspeople, especially in Metro Manila, association vice president Jack Hsieh (謝嘉卿) said.
“Everyone is confined to their homes due to the community quarantine measures,” said Hsieh, who runs a Taiwanese fast food chain in the Philippines. “We can’t work. Workers who receive their salary on a weekly basis and have no savings might soon run short of cash.”
Taiwanese businesspeople are doing their best to help, Hsieh said.
“For example, our firm distributed packages of food and other necessities to our employees,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Taiwanese Association in the Philippines, a group of Taiwanese businesspeople, donated 10,000 masks to Philippine General Hospital, one of the medical facilities designated by the Philippine government as a COVID-19 treatment center.
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