A series of tweets out of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa day China has begun sending medical supplies to Canada. The tweets come as some Canadians are criticizing Canada’s shipment of medical supplies to China in February. One tweet from the embassy dated yesterday says a plane arrived at Pearson airport Monday with supplies. Another says China donated 100,000 surgical masks to Canada on March 18. It is not clear if the Monday planeload of supplies consists of the masks from March 18th or a different shipment. A tweet from this morning from the embassy reads, “on March 27, Bank of China donates medical supplies (including 30000 medical masks, 10000 sets of protective clothing, 10000 goggles and 50000 pairs of gloves, followed by N95 medical masks to Canada fighting against COVID-19. We are together!
Global News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in order to confirm the tweet, but did not hear back by time of publication.
According to the PHAC, as of 6 p.m. ET on Friday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Canada had topped 4,600. The PHAC said more than 170,600 Canadians have been tested for the virus. Across the country, a number of businesses and factories have retooled in order to assist in the production of highly sought-after medical supplies. Canada’s chief public health officer has cautioned health officials to be smart in their use of supplies as the outbreak continues. Canada is not the only country reported to receive aid from China. On Saturday, the Pakistani foreign ministry said it was expecting a plane of medical supplies and personnel to arrive from China to help fight the spread of the virus. China has sought to portray itself as a global leader in the fight against the outbreak, which began a few months ago in its Wuhan province.
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