A Chinese production company is donating 100,000 disposable medical masks to support Malta’s fight against COVID-19.
 
Hongyi Culture, working with the China Representative Office for Maltese film production company Triton Productions Ltd, has supplied the Maltese government with 100,000 disposable medical masks to be supplied to public service workers and whoever is in need.
 
Foreign and European Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary for Cleansing Deo Debattista, said that the masks had arrived in Malta on Sunday afternoon and were currently awaiting distribution.

Deo Debattista said that the masks would initially be given to the police and correctional services as well as members of the Armed Forces of Malta and the Cleansing Department. 
 
He added that they could also be supplied to the Red Cross and those working in food distribution if requested.
 
Evarist Bartolo thanked Hongyi Culture, Triton Productions and the Chinese government for making the donation possible. He explained that the Chinese firm had had to postpone its filming in Malta because of this virus. 
 
“They felt like they should do their bit to help,” Bartolo said. 

The Foreign Affairs Minister also appealed to the European Union to ensure that small states like Malta are not marginalised when supplies for medicines and personal protective equipment are distributed to fight the virus.

The EU Commission has agreed to a joint procurement exercise to bulk-buy and then distribute protective equipment such as masks and face-shields to all its member states. 

But individual member states appear reluctant to share equipment producing within their borders. France, Germany, Italy and others, for instance, have imposed limits on the export of protective or medical equipment.

Bartolo said that the Maltese government had been working with other governments to help provide free repatriation flights for foreign nationals stuck in Malta. These flights have returned French, Italian, Spanish, German and Egyptian nationals to their home countries.
 
“They have thanked us for the solidarity that we have shown towards them,” Bartolo said.
 
In closing, Debattista appealed to the Maltese public to heed advice from the Maltese medical authorities and to stay indoors and stay safe. 
 

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