United Arab Emirates donates 6.6 tons of material to the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has reached 40,261 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday after 357 deaths, according to the British Ministry of Health. The United Arab Emirates, a country that has positioned itself as one of the main leaders in the international fight against the coronavirus, has donated 6.6 tons of material to the British nation, as part of the Gulf state's global fight against this pandemic. 

This shipment - which arrived at Heathrow airport on a special charter flight on Friday morning - will enable the country to produce millions of items of personal protective equipment, such as face masks. PPE is equipment, pieces or devices that prevent a person from having direct contact with certain hazards or pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible of the new coronavirus. 

"We are pleased to be able to help Britain, one of our closest friends and allies. The United Arab Emirates is committed to helping combat COVID-19 wherever possible and has donated aid to 63 countries around the world". With these words, the UAE Ambassador to the UK, Mansoor Abulhoul, welcomed the shipment of 6.6 tonnes of cast cloth, a critical component in the manufacture of surgical masks, at a time when there is a major global shortage of material and its export is registered from the UAE, as reported by the WAM news agency. 

For his part, the director of strategic communications at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hend al Otaiba, stressed on Twitter that the UAE "supports the UK in helping those on the frontlines to overcome the COVID-19 crisis". Earlier in April, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai's vice president, prime minister and ruler, donated 60 tons of urgent medical aid to the UK. 

Since the beginning of this global health crisis, the United Arab Emirates has provided some 708 tons of aid to more than 62 nations, facilitating the action of more than 708,000 health professionals. The Gulf state restructured its factories earlier this year to be able to produce PPE and introduced one of the world's most advanced testing and monitoring regimes; a system that has enabled more than two million people to be tested and intends to test the country's 9 million citizens and residents, according to WAM news agency information.

This shipment has come at the same time that several nations have shown their appreciation and gratitude to the United Arab Emirates in its international assistance efforts to combat COVID-19, a disease that has already left more than 387,000 dead and more than 6.5 million cases diagnosed.