SINGAPORE - Singapore has sent medical supplies to Myanmar that will allow doctors to detect and contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Wednesday (March 4) that the Government has contributed 3,000 diagnostic tests and two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines to test for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

MFA said the contribution was in response to a request from the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports.

The supplies were handed over by Singapore's Ambassador to Myanmar, Ms Vanessa Chan, to Myanmar National Health Laboratory director Htay Htay Tin at Yangon International Airport.

Singapore had previously sent medical supplies to China on Feb 19 and Feb 8.

For the Feb 19 dispatch, Singapore's Ambassador to China, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, handed over the country's humanitarian assistance to People's Liberation Army General Hospital Medical Service Department deputy head Zhang Fu in Beijing.

The assistance was to help communities severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China and aid efforts to contain the virus, MFA said on Feb 20.

Referring to the same dispatch, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, posted on his Facebook page that the Ministry of Defence delivered over 2,000kg of medical supplies such as safety goggles, N95 masks and medical handwash to be distributed to Chinese military hospitals.

The Feb 8 dispatch of humanitarian assistance by the Singapore Government was sent to Wuhan.

Besides government-to-government aid, the Singapore Red Cross has sent $2.26 million worth of aid to China on Feb 19 as part of its relief efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak in the country.