MANILA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China has donated 500,000 disposable medical masks to the Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines to help fight the COVID-19 spread, the Bank's Manila branch said on Sunday.
"In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's important to remember to be compassionate," said Deng Jun, Country Head of Bank of China Manila. "We all have our roles to play in this challenging situation."
Deng further said that Bank of China places a great deal of importance on being a family. "And as members of one big family, we need to remember that it is also our responsibility to help keep each other healthy and safe," he added.
Miko Amansec, chief of Bureau of International Health Cooperation Section of the department, said that this is a much-needed donation in these very critical and trying times.
"We want to thank Bank of China for their invaluable assistance," he said.
The Philippines reported on Sunday the COVID-19 cases in the country has soared to 1,418, as 343 new cases were confirmed, the biggest single-day increase.
In a virtual press conference, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 71 patients have died and 42 have recovered from the highly infectious disease.
Vergeire said the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases is due to the health department's "improved testing capacity" to conduct COVID-19 testings.
"We can expect in the coming days that the number of tests conducted will increase," Vergeire said, adding that the government's objective "is early detection so that we can have an early treatment and recovery."
