The Chinese nationals on the secret flight to Port Moresby on Monday brought with them 3 boxes containing 50,000 facial masks and donated them to PNG in a small ceremony at the Hilton Hotel yesterday.
They also announced the donation of 20 ventilators, valued at more than a million kina. The ventilators are expected to arrive next week when all paperwork is in place.
Ventilator is an equipment that helps the user to breathe or it breathes for the user.
The ventilator takes over the body’s breathing process when disease has caused the lungs to fail and is being used widely overseas to help COVID 19 patients breathe.
Chinese ambassador to PNG Xue Bing said the donation was China’s way of reciprocating PNG’s kindness. He said when China was first hit with C19, Prime Minister James Marape hosted a fundraising luncheon and raised funds to assist China in its time of need.
He further said Chinese scientists are working day and night to develop a vaccine and once they develop one, PNG and other less developed countries will be some of the first to receive those vaccines.
On behalf of the government of PNG, Police Commissioner and Controller David Manning thanked the Chinese people for the donation.
“Today we will be receiving around 50 000 PPE masks as well as 20 ventilators, I understand is to the value of around a million kina. That is something that should not be received lightly. Again, it’s received with the greatest of gratitude from the people of PNG.”
Mr. Manning also assured the nation that the Chinese nationals have not been exposed to public places, they are based at the Hilton, conducting all their business there and will leave from there once they are done.
