SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 29, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sending supplies to China to assist with the containment of the respiratory illness coronavirus.
A news release from the LDS Church said President Russell M. Nelson recently reached out to see what specifically was needed.
“Through these efforts, the Church learned of a need for protective equipment at the Children’s Medical Center in Shanghai, where supplies have been depleted because of the outbreak in Wuhan,” the news release said. “In partnering with Project HOPE (Health Oriented Preventive Education), plans are being made to distribute the needed supplies.”
Working with Project HOPE, a plane from Salt Lake City is being chartered to transport supplies from the Church’s Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City, the news release said. A second shipment will be sent from the Church’s storehouse in Atlanta. In all there will be 220,000 respirator masks, 870 pairs of protective goggles and more than 6,500 pairs of protective coveralls sent on 79 pallets of protective medical equipment.
In Shanghai, Latter-day Saint volunteers will assist in the receipt and distribution of the supplies to those in need.
“These are our dear brothers and sisters and we feel privileged to be able to offer some small measure of help,” Nelson said. “We pray for them and know God will bless them.”
Coronavirus was first identified in the Hubei Province of China, where the number of infections has reached nearly 6,000, with dozens more confirmed cases outside of mainland China.
