TASHKENT: Uzbekistan is sending 40 tonnes of protective suits, masks and gloves to virus-hit China, the Central Asian nation's government said on Wednesday (Feb 12), as a fully loaded military cargo plane departed Tashkent.

Uzbekistan's government has stopped all regular flights to China, its major trade partner and investor, due to an outbreak of a new coronavirus, which emerged there late last year. Chinese authorities have reported shortages of protective medical equipment.



READ: Overworked and unprotected: Wuhan doctors in China's coronavirus epicentre risk infection



The Tashkent cabinet said in a statement it was preparing a second shipment. It did not specify whether the flights were headed for the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, Beijing, or another location in China.

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the novel coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

Advertisement