Corporate donations continue as China battles epidemic
Additional donations made by pharmaceutical and personal-care companies have reached Hubei Province and other parts of the country amid China’s efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
Fosun Pharma's affiliate Breas Medical Group has donated 140 non-invasive ventilators, with a total value of 15 million yuan (US$2.1 million), to 14 Hubei hospitals.
"We ordered ventilators from Breas' headquarters in Sweden in late January and expedited the transportation process since they're in urgent demand at Hubei hospitals," said Fosun Pharma's Vice President Liu Yi.
It has also been providing remote support services for the operation of existing ventilators in domestic hospitals.
On Monday, another batch of materials purchased by Fosun Foundation and Tencent Charity Foundation — including hazmat suits, N95 masks and ventilators — reached Wuhan Jihe Hospital.
Fosun Pharma's affiliate Breas Medical Group has donated 140 non-invasive ventilators to 14 Hubei hospitals.
Fast fashion retailer Inditex Group said it's sending two batches of medical materials worth 1 million euros (US$1.08 million) to the Tsinghua University Education Foundation, which will distribute them over the coming weeks.
The materials consist of face masks, gloves, caps and shoe covers.
Inditex's Executive Chairman Pablo Isla said, "We want to acknowledge the exemplary behavior of the country's medical community, which is partially responsible for the fact that the Chinese population is demonstrating such a sense of union and serenity."
Siemens Healthineers has donated medical equipment worth 15 million yuan, including computer tomography devices and blood-gas analyzers, and has also prioritized resources to guarantee supply of mobile digital radiography devices to China.
Siemens’ advanced power distribution equipment is supporting the power supply of Leishenshan Hospital, Wuhan’s second makeshift hospital for infected patients.
"We see this not only as a battle for China, but as one of the whole international community,” said Lothar Herrmann, president and CEO of Siemens China. “We are prepared to provide further assistance necessary to support the fight against the virus.”
Siemens Healthineers has donated diagnostic devices such as blood-gas analyzers to Hubei.
Unilever said it has donated nine batches of medical and hygiene supplies worth more than 5.3 million yuan as of Friday. They have reached medical institutions and quarantine staff in five provinces and include hand sanitizer, disinfectant sprays, hand cream and air and water purifiers.
Unilever's hand sanitizers and disinfectant sprays have been sent to domestic hospitals.
French lens and vision health leader Essilor Group has donated 1.5 million yuan and 200,000 pairs of goggles to medical staff in Hubei Province, fever clinics in other parts of the country, as well as traffic and medical staff at Shanghai' highway checkpoints.
Shanghai-headquartered video and gaming site Bilibili is donating 10 million yuan to Wuhan and 300,000 yuan worth of medical supplies.
It's also offering free monthly subscriptions to 100,000 housebound viewers in Hubei and Sichuan provinces.
Novartis has pledged a donation of 2 million in cash to the Red Cross Society of China in addition to several batches of face masks, protective suits, medical alcohol and goggles to hospitals in Wuhan, Shanghai and Jiangsu.
Abbott said it has made a further donation of 13 million yuan worth of adult and pediatric nutrition products to offer nutritional support to both infected children and to medical professionals.
More than 18 million yuan worth of facilities including clinical chemistry system, blood analyzers and other medical and nutritional supplies and funding grants donated by Abbott earlier have already reached the epicenter of the outbreak.
