Tonnes of medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided bt the World Health Organisation are pictured at the al-Maktum International airport in Dubai on March 2, 2020. (AFP)
Mon 02 March 2020:
The United Arab Emirates Air Force carried out a coronavirus aid mission to Iran on Monday in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported.
A UAE military aircraft was dispatched with six medics onboard, as well as 7.5 tons of medical equipment and supplies including laboratory diagnostic kits, hundreds of thousands of gloves, surgical masks, in addition to other medical supplies provided by WHO, that could assist about 15,000 healthcare workers caring for coronavirus patients in Iran.
“The mission is part of our efforts to support coronavirus patients,” Sultan al-Shamsi, Assistant Minister for International Development Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) told WAM.
“[The UAE] will continue to extend our support to the people in distress in collaboration with the international community… Aid should reach all people regardless of their background.”
Iran has confirmed 1,501 infection cases and the death toll is 66, as of Monday. The country has the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside of China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The UAE provided the military transport plane for the flight to Tehran despite having downgraded its relations with the Islamic republic amid the coronvirus outbreak.
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