Turkish Military Plane With Covid-19 Aid Lands In Us

A Turkish military plane carrying medical supplies landed in the US on Tuesday to support the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic as it reported over one million confirmed cases.

The A400M military cargo plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland outside Washington, DC.

The shipment includes 500,000 surgical masks, 40,000 overalls, 2,000 litres of disinfectant, 1,500 goggles, 400 N-95 masks and 500 face shields, according to the Turkish presidency.

Prepared under the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the medical aid carried a message for the people of the US:

“After hopelessness, there is so much hope, and after darkness, there is the much brighter sun,” quoting the words of 13th century scholar Jalaluddin Rumi.

Turkey has helped over 55 countries during the pandemic, including Italy, Spain and the UK.

US thanks Turkey for donation

US Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield thanked Ankara for donating the medical supplies in cooperation to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak in the worst-hit country.

“During times of crisis, like the worldwide effort to combat Covid-19, close coordination among like-minded allies and partners is key to developing a swift and effective response. None of us can do this alone,” Satterfield said in a statement.

“On behalf of the US Government, I want to thank our NATO Ally Turkey for today’s generous donation of medical supplies and other essential equipment,” he added.

US deaths from the coronavirus have surpassed 58,000, with the number of infections standing at 1,008,066 – two thirds of the world’s total.

The pandemic has killed more than 216,000 people worldwide, with the total number of infections exceeding 3.09 million, while more than 921,000 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University of the US.