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South Korea sends 2M masks to US to fight coronavirus

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South Korea’s foreign ministry said Sunday that it had donated two million medical face masks to the U.S. to help fill shortages in hospitals hit hardest by the coronavirus.

A press release from the agency obtained by Yonhap News Agency confirmed that a cargo plane carrying the masks would arrive in the U.S. on Monday.

“The provision followed comprehensive considerations, such as our country’s domestic COVID-19 situation and the local supply and demand for masks, and the need for support for our ally, the U.S.,” the ministry said, according to Yonhap.

“We hope that South Korea and the U.S. will quickly overcome the shared challenge of the COVID-19 disease through this support, and this can contribute to sharing Korea’s quarantine experience with the international community,” the press release continued.

Harry Harris, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, thanked South Korea’s government in a pair of tweets.

The donation of masks marks the second major act of assistance South Korea’s government has taken amid the coronavirus outbreak; Maryland’s governor previously announced in April that his state had acquired half a million COVID-19 testing kits from the country.

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