Vietnam has shipped medical supplies and equipment worth US$500,000 to China to help the neighboring country combat a pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

An aircraft of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Sunday transported the equipment to Wuhan City in the central Chinese province of Hubei.

The plane also carried 11 Chinese citizens back to their home country and will return with some Vietnamese nationals from Hubei.

Prior to the departure, a ceremony was organized at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, during which Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung handed over the assistance to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo.

The equipment, including ventilators, cleanroom suits, gloves, and face masks, was valued at $500,000 in total.

The items demonstrate Vietnam’s solidarity with China as well as its efforts to support the neighboring nation amidst the 2019-nCoV epidemic, Dung elaborated.

The equipment and supplies are of the best of their kind in Vietnam, the official added.

Vietnam is taking drastic measures to contain the epidemic and protect the health of its people, as well as coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other countries in coping with the situation.

As ASEAN Chair in 2020, the country is also promoting the bloc’s common efforts to stand side by side with China and other nations in the fight against the epidemic, Dung remarked.

Ambassador Xiong said he appreciates the precious assistance provided by the Vietnamese Party, government, and people.

He described the medical equipment and supplies as both material and spiritual support for the Chinese people during this “difficult” time.

The diplomat praised Vietnam’s determination and efforts in containing the epidemic, expressing his belief that the country will successfully deal with its impacts.

The medical equipment and supplies would be immediately delivered to Wuhan City, the frontline of the 2019-nCoV epidemic, he said.

On this occasion, the Vietnam Red Cross Society has also donated medical supplies worth $100,000 to China.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 910 people, of whom 908 were in mainland China, and infected over 40,550 globally as of Monday, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has spread across mainland China and to 27 other countries and regions, Reuters reported on the same day.

Vietnam has confirmed 14 cases so far, including 11 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese have fully recovered and been released from hospital.

Nearly 500 people remain in quarantine in Vietnam because of 2019-nCoV as of Monday morning, including 83 cases of suspected infection and 392 asymptomatic cases isolated due to having recent close contact with high-risk individuals, according to the Ministry of Health.

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