Coronavirus: UAE to help China with medical supplies

The UAE has expressed its full confidence in China’s ability to contain the outbreak.

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  Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed stands with a medical team at Borg El Arab airport, awaiting passengers that were evacuated from Wuhan, China, in Alexandria, Egypt. Reuters

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  Algerians, Libyans and Mauritanians on a transport bus following their evacuation from China amid the coronavirus epidemic at the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, Algeria. EPA

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  Medical team walk towards the aircraft to receive passengers that were evacuated from Wuhan, at Borg El Arab airport in Alexandria, Egypt. Reuters

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  Algerian medical staff in protective suits prepare to accompany Algerians, Libyans and Mauritanians on a transport bus following their evacuation from China amid the coronavirus epidemic at the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, Algeria. EPA

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  Afghan health workers wearing protective gear wait to check passengers who arrived from China as a preventive measure for Coronavirus, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP Photo

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  Health officials in protective suits at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia waiting for arrivals that were evacuated from China's Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. AP

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  A Malaysian national being directed onto a bus by health officials in protective suits as she arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, after being evacuated from China's Wuhan. AP

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  A guard in protective gear stands outside the Accident and Emergency building at Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong, China. EPA

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  A stewardess takes the temperature of passenger as a preventive measure for the coronavirus on an Air China flight from Melbourne to Beijing before it landed at Beijing Capital International Airport in China. AP Photo

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  Evacuated Malaysian nationals on a bus after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, from the Chinese city of Wuhan, in Sepang, Malaysia. EPA

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  Workers set up beds at an exhibition centre that was converted into a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. AFP

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  Workers set up beds at an exhibition centre that was converted into a hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. AFP

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  Chinese police march wearing masks during a duty change in Beijing, China. Getty Images

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  The upper decks of the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 people look empty as the ship sits anchored in quarantine off the port of Yokohama, a day after it arrived with passengers feeling ill. AFP

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  A dog wears a paper cup over its mouth on a street in Beijing. AFP

The UAE is working to ensure China has enough medical supplies to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation reaffirmed the UAE’s support to China and expressed its full confidence in the country’s ability to contain the outbreak, Wam reported.

More than 20,000 people in China have been infected with the virus and at least 425 people have died so far.

The UAE is "fully and continuously" prepared to provide its resources and expertise to help China combat the spread of the virus, the ministry said.

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Watch live: China builds coronavirus hospital in Wuhan

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"Under the guidance of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and in keeping with the comprehensive and special strategic partnership shared by both countries, [the UAE] is working with the relevant authorities in the People's Republic of China to co-operate and help ensure the availability of necessary medical supplies to combat the outbreak," it said.

Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, said “what China urgently needs at present are medical masks, protective suits and safety goggles”.

Factories in China are capable of producing up to 20 million masks a day but are currently operating at between 60 to 70 per capacity only, according to reports.

While it is unclear why the factories are not operating at full capacity, it could be linked to China decision to extend the Lunar New Year holiday to curb the spread of the virus.

Moreover, stocks remain low due to panic buying.

Hubei, the province at the centre of the outbreak, and several other cities with a population of more than 300 million, have made it compulsory to wear masks in public.