THE UNITED States government and private sector bolstered the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic by donating more than 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment.
On Wednesday, Mayor Sara Duterte received from the United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim more than 10,800 units of PPEs, which include face masks (medical, KN95, N95), face shields, gloves, shoe covers, and surgical gowns.
“These efforts are the result of a longstanding special partnership between the United States and the Philippines,” Ambassador Kim said during the virtual handover.
The PPEs were purchased through the Biological Threat Reduction Program funded by the US Department of Defense. They will be distributed to the Davao City’s Rapid Response Team and Temporary Treatment and Management Facilities.
“We express our gratitude for the support of USAID to the City Government of Davao, City Health Office, the Department of Health, and the Southern Philippines Medical Center, as they are the recipients of the PPEs given to us,” Duterte said. “We thank them for their support for our activities, projects, and initiatives against COVID-19.”
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with American company Procter & Gamble will also provide 1,450 hygiene kits for the city.
On Thursday, the PLDT-Smart Foundation also donated PPEs, disinfectant tablets, and hand sprayers at the Davao International Airport holding facility or Tent City.
Gene Rose Tecson, the head of the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO), said that the city received 5,000 face masks, 30 hand sprayers, and disinfectant tablets for the Tent City.
“These will help in the implementation of health protocols inside the Tent City,” Tecson said.
PLDT-Smart Foundation also committed to installing free WiFi in the Tent City for the passengers to use while waiting for their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results.
