Taipei, Taiwan (Merxwire) – The KGI Charity Foundation donated surgical masks to Japan in May. The Taiwan-based foundation said it hopes the donation can help Japan fight the outbreak and return to normalcy.
KGI Charity Foundation Chairman Angelo Koo said that viruses know no borders and Taiwan should participate in international COVID-19 containment and humanitarian efforts, adding that Japan is a close neighbor to Taiwan and that people from the two nations have provided help to each other in times of need.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on May 26 expressed gratitude to Koo’s donation of masks, which he said will be distributed to medical workers in Japan through the Ministry of Welfare. He thanked the Taiwanese people and enterprises, adding that Japan will work with its neighbors to fight the pandemic.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga thanks Angelo Koo for donating surgical masks to Japan during a press conference on May 26. (Captured from the Japan Government Internet TV)
Japan has reported over 16,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, while over 800 patients have died due to the infection. The Japanese government ended its nationwide state of emergency on May 25 as COVID-19 cases tails off.
Taiwan has seen comparative success in its efforts to contain COVID-19. As of May 26, Taiwan has reported no new local infections for 44 days in a row. To help some of the worst affected countries in their fight against the pandemic, Taiwan recently donated millions of surgical masks across several continents.
Angelo Koo, a key figure in Taiwan’s financial sector and philanthropist, donated in his personal capacity one million surgical masks to New Jersey in April, one of the hardest-hit states in the U.S. based on confirmed cases.