About 300,000 surgical masks are on their way from overseas to China's southernmost Hainan province to provide better protection for local medical staff working hard to treat patients during the recent novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a report from Hainan Daily on Wednesday.
Officials with the Hainan provincial foreign affairs office said overseas Chinese with Hainan origin and foreign friends from Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia the United States and other countries and regions purchased 300,000 surgical masks in the past several days and are sending them to Hainan. More masks will be sent later from abroad, they added.
A number of overseas Chinese stayed up all night on Chinese New Year's Eve, coordinating the purchase, packing and transportation of masks to Hainan.
Haikou Customs said special clearance services will be arranged to ensure the urgently needed medical supplies are delivered to local hospitals in the shortest time.
As of midnight on Jan 29, the island province has reported 46 confirmed cases of pneumonia, seven in serious condition, one death and one discharge case, with 1,017 undergoing home-based or centralized medical observation according to the provincial health commission.
As a tropical tourist destination, Hainan usually attracts a large number of visitors from home and abroad during the Spring Festival holiday. On Saturday, Hainan launched a top-level public health emergency response to the epidemic.
Overview
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