ATLANTA — The UPS Foundation announced Friday it is providing free air transportation of more than 2 million respirator masks and 11,000 protective suits to China to help combat the spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China.
The business's foundation is working a number of other foundations to make this endeavor happen. Some of the foundations include MAP International, MedShare, Red Cross Society of China and Project HOPE.
“The world needs strong public-private partnerships to help contain the spread of this deadly virus and The UPS Foundation is expanding its humanitarian relief network to support our partners in providing supply chain expertise and air transport,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer. “The UPS Foundation is a member of the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) and the Private Sector Roundtable (PSRT) for the Global Health Security Group on Pandemic Preparedness. We have developed a global network of relief agencies to help bring aid to communities in crisis, in this case, to bring medical aid to healthcare workers in China.”
UPS says the humanitarian flight will address a critical shortage of personal protective equipment available in China and includes more than:
- 2 million respirator masks
- 11,000 protective suits
- 280,000 pairs of nitrile gloves
“We are grateful to our partners MAP International and MedShare, along with generous product donors and PSCN and PSRT network partners Henry Schein, 3M and others, for helping UPS respond to the coronavirus outbreak,” said Martinez. “Working together we hope to contain and help eradicate the epidemic.”
The coronavirus has been reported in more than 23 countries globally and there are five reported cases in the United States (all of whom are individuals recently returning from Wuhan, China).
More from WHAS11:
- Delta to suspend all U.S. flights to China due to coronavirus
- Airlines remove hot food, magazines on China flights amid coronavirus outbreak
- US government advises do not travel to China amid coronavirus outbreak
- VERIFY: Are videos showing people eating bats the reason for the coronavirus outbreak
- Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport announces $400 million improvement plan
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.