KATHMANDU, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Nepal has got a fresh donation of medical supplies including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test kits, N95 masks, surgical masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) sets from China to fight COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population said.
"The Chinese embassy in Nepal on Monday handed over 40,000 PCR test kits, 20,000 N95 masks, 800,000 surgical masks and 10,000 PPE sets to the ministry amid a function," the Ministry said in a press statement on Monday.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi confirmed the handover of the medical goods on a tweet on Monday.
On May 6, the Himalayan country received 10,000 KN95 masks, 338,000 disposable surgical masks and 9,000 PPEs and goggles from the Chinese embassy in Nepal and the Department of Asian Affairs under China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The arrival of fresh medical supplies, particularly the PCR test kits has been very important for Nepal because we don't have adequate PCR test kits," Bikas Devkota, spokesperson at the ministry told Xinhua on Monday.
"After the fresh donation from China, we now have around 70,000 PCR test kits. But, we have targeted to collect over 100,000 such test kits amid the growing number of COVID-19 cases."
With the addition of 24 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, Nepal currently has 134 confirmed cases.
During the handover ceremony of medical goods on Monday, Nepali Minister for Health and Population Bhanubhakta Dhakal lauded China's support, saying that the Himalayan country received the essential medical supplies which were in urgent need.
"China sharing its experiences through its doctors to Nepal has also been important to tackle the COVID-19 in Nepal," he said, according to the ministry's statement.
Besides support from China's central government, Nepal has also received donations of medical supplies from various provincial governments of China and Chinese private enterprises to fight the pandemic. Enditem
