UAE carries out aid mission to Iran with WHO amid coronavirus outbreak

UAE carries out aid mission to Iran with WHO amid coronavirus outbreak
March 2, 2020, 12:03 pm

Officials check medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided by WHO at the al-Maktum International airport in Dubai on March 2, 2020. (AFP)

The United Arab Emirates Air Force carried out a coronavirus aid mission to Iran on Monday in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported.

A UAE military aircraft was dispatched with six medics on board, as well as 7.5 tons of medical equipment and supplies including laboratory diagnostic kits, hundreds of thousands of gloves, surgical masks, in addition to other medical supplies provided by WHO, that could assist about 15,000 healthcare workers caring for coronavirus patients in Iran.

Click here for our dedicated coronavirus section.

“The mission is part of our efforts to support coronavirus patients,” Sultan al-Shamsi, Assistant Minister for International Development Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) told WAM.

“ will continue to extend our support to the people in distress in collaboration with the international community… Aid should reach all people regardless of their background.”

Tonnes of medical equipment and coronavirus testing kits provided bt the World Health Organisation are pictured at the al-Maktum International airport in Dubai on March 2, 2020. (AFP)

Iran has confirmed 1,501 infection cases and the death toll is 66, as of Monday. The country has the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside of China, the epicenter of the outbreak. The UAE provided the military transport plane for the flight to Tehran despite having downgraded its relations with the Islamic republic amid the coronavirus outbreak.

source: Joanne Serrieh

Sweden health officials call to ban flights from Iran over coronavirus fears EU top officials to visit Greece’s border with Turkey over migrant crisis