Medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation are transfered at a warehouse of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, March 26, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
Medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation to Malaysia and Thailand include face masks, test kits, protective suits and face shields.
KUALA LUMPUR/BANGKOK, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation were handed over to the Malaysian and Thai governments on Thursday in a bid to help the two Southeast Asian countries fight against the COVID-19 spread.
The shipment, including face masks, test kits, protective suits and face shields, arrived in Malaysia in two batches since late Wednesday.
Deputy Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) Khairul Shahril Bin Idrus took receipt of the donation from Leo Chow, CEO of Lazada Malaysia representing the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation. NADMA has been entrusted to distribute the supplies throughout the nation.
This donation is among a number of aid initiatives from the Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation to support the areas of the world most affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the two foundations said.
"We hope our donation will help the ongoing national effort in Malaysia to curtail spread of COVID-19. Even though transportation of the medical supplies is becoming ever more challenging by day, we leveraged the strength of the Malaysia electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) hub to get it done as fast as we could," said James Song, secretary general of the eWTP office (Electronic World Trade Platform).
Meanwhile, medical supplies donated by the two Chinese foundations were formally received by Thailand's Ministry of Public Health at a handover ceremony on Thursday.
Medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 25, 2020. (Xinhua)
The foundations shipped the first batch of supplies including face masks, protective suits and face shields via a specially chartered flight. The 17-ton supplies arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Anutin Charnvirakul, deputy prime minister and minister of public health, took receipt of the donations from James Dong, CEO of Lazada Thailand in representation of the foundations.
Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the Government Pharmaceutical Organization of Thailand, will transport and distribute the supplies across the nation.
"Thailand is faced with a time of unprecedented challenges like many countries around the world, however we are determined to win the fight against the pandemic. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation for their timely and much-needed assistance as we are making our best efforts to adjust to a rapidly evolving situation," said Charnvirakul.
Thailand declared a nationwide state of emergency to fight the coronavirus pandemic, effective from Wednesday until April 30.
Under the emergency decree, all foreigners are banned from entry at all entry points. The only exceptions will be shippers, diplomats, drivers, pilots and others permitted by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Photo taken in Bangkok, Thailand on March 25, 2020 shows medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation. (Xinhua)
Thailand reported 111 new coronavirus infections, taking its tally to 1,045, the government said on Twitter Thursday.
"We hope the donations will help Thailand to contain COVID-19 … The biggest challenge is getting medical supplies to where it is needed in the fastest way possible, but we are working very hard to get it done," said Dong.
This shipments are part of a wider donation initiative to four Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The four nations will collectively receive a total of 2 million face masks, testing kits for 150,000 people, 20,000 protective suits and 20,000 face shields, according to the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation. @@(color:rgb(51,127,229);)@(color:rgb(51,127,229);)