BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
The U.S. Embassy officials in Tashkent delivered 600 sets of personal protective equipment to the Republican Center for the Prevention of Plague, Quarantine and Highly Dangerous Infections under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to the US Embassy in Tashkent.
They were handed over "to support Uzbekistan's efforts to prepare for an outbreak of coronavirus".
Back in January, the Health Ministry appealed to all international donors for supplies of personal protective equipment and test kits to diagnose coronavirus.
In response to this request, the US Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) provided funding for 600 personal protective equipment kits, including face masks, plastic masks, respirators and gloves.
The personal protective equipment will be kept as part of the national reserve and will also be used if coronavirus is detected in the country.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. Since then over 2,300 people have died and over 77,000 people have been confirmed as infected.
Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing. It is primarily spread through airborne contact or contact with contaminated objects.
Chinese health authorities say that the majority of the people who have died were either elderly or had underlying health problems.
Aside from Mainland China, the cases of coronavirus spreading have also been confirmed in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, France, Canada, the UAE, India, Italy, Russia, Philippines, the UK, Nepal, Cambodia, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Sweden and Sri Lanka.
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