Taiwan has donated 80,000 surgical masks to Palau, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Tuvalu, its four diplomatic allies in the Pacific region.
The foreign ministry made the donation official at a ceremony on Wednesday. Attendees were asked to keep one meter apart from each other in line with the government’s social distancing recommendations.
None of Taiwan’s Pacific allies have confirmed cases of COVID-19. However, the disease has reached other parts of the Pacific region.
During the ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien said that in addition to masks, Taiwan will also send testing kits, reagent for tests, and other supplies to its Pacific allies.
Hsu said Taiwan’s donation of masks shows that it takes extending help to friendly nations seriously.