Nepal gifts 100,000 masks to China to help overcome shortage

Nepal on Friday gifted 100,000 protective masks to China which is battling against the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 630 lives. The decision to gift the masks came in the backdrop of its shortage in China.

Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali and Health Minister Bhanubakta Dhakal handed over the masks to China's ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi at an event here. A high-level meeting of the Nepal government on Thursday decided to dispatch one lakh protective masks to China.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese ambassador Hou thanked the Nepal government and the international community for their contribution to contain coronavirus. "This kind of support and unity has provided China and its citizens with the much-needed willpower to battle it," she remarked.

As of Thursday, 636 people have died mostly in Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan due to the virus with the total number of confirmed cases jumping to 3,143, Chinese officials announced on Friday.