Last night, a humanitarian flight carrying 10 tons of medical supplies and equipment to fight COVID-19 arrived in Mexico , all the way from Shangai .
According to Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard , this is the first of 20 shipments of KN95 masks and gloves purchased by the Mexican government. The supplies will be distributed among healthcare workers who are treating patients infected with coronavirus .
The flight was operated by Mexican airline AeroMéxico and flew Martha Delgado , the Deputy Secretary of Multilateral Affairs , Under the Foreign Ministry , to China to oversee the operation. It arrived back in Mexico City on April 7.
Martha Delgado announced Mexico will receive supplies two to three times a week in the incoming weeks.
Ebrard said Mexico was able to purchase the equipment because President López Obrador proposed an open door policy to purchase medical equipment during the G20 summit.
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Once the plane touched down in Mexico, the army unloaded the medical equipment and transported them to warehouses that will be under their custody.
The masks and gloves were purchased by the Insabi , in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, who negotiated with the Chinese government to allow the operation.
The material will be distributed among federal and state institutions such as the IMSS , ISSSTE , Insabi , SSST , Pemex , Navy, national hospitals, INDRE , and the prison system.
The army and the navy will be in charge of transporting the essential equipment to the health ministries in 32 states.
According to Dr. Hugo López-Gatell , all these supplies will allow the country to fulfill 100% of the equipment required to protect health workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
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