Uzbekistan sends protective equipment to virus-hit China

Uzbekistan is sending 40 tonnes of protective suits, masks, and gloves to virus-hit China, the Central Asian nation's government said on Wednesday, as a fully loaded military cargo plane departed Tashkent.

Uzbekistan's government has stopped all regular flights to China, its major trade partner and investor, due to an outbreak of a new coronavirus, which emerged there late last year. Chinese authorities have reported shortages of protective medical equipment.

The Tashkent cabinet said in a statement it was preparing a second shipment. It did not specify whether the flights were headed for the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, Beijing, or another location in China.