Taiwan donated a new batch of 60,000 Surgical Masks to help Saint Lucia Combat COVID-19 on 21 May 2020.
H.E. Ambassador Douglas Cheng-Tsung Shen and Hon. Mary Isaac, Minister for Health and Wellness presided over the handover ceremony. This marks the third batch of medical equipment donated from Taiwan to Saint Lucia since the outbreak of the COVId-19 pandemic.
So far, Taiwan has donated 100,000 masks and six sets of thermal imaging body temperature detection systems. Taiwan is expected to donate 200,000 more surgical masks, 5,000 N95 masks, 4,000 Protective suits (for indoors and outdoors), 450 portable handheld thermometers, three forehead thermometers with display screens, two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines (for COVID-19 testing) with 720 test kits and 20,000 hydroxychloroquine in the near future.
Ambassador Shen symbolically handed over a case of face masks to Minister Isaac. After the ceremony, they posed for a photo with all the donated equipment at the Embassy. The equipment was then sent to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
After the handover, Ambassador Shen and Minister Isaac exchanged views on various issues regarding public health cooperation between the two countries.
Ambassador Shen commended the Government of Saint Lucia and Hon. Minister Isaac for voicing out for Taiwan in the World Health Assembly (WHA) on 18 May. He emphasised that Taiwan should be part of the World Health Organization (WHO) so that it can better contribute to global health and the fight against trans-border diseases. WHO rejects Taiwan’s participation purely for political reasons, he said.
Minister Isaac thanked Taiwan for its continuous support and particularly the comprehensive cooperation model between Taiwan and Saint Lucia. She regards Saint Lucians’ natural affinity with Taiwan as “a part of us.”