Turkey sends medical aid to Azerbaijan amid COVID-19

By Ruslan Rehimov

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) – Turkey has sent medical supplies to Azerbaijan to contribute to country's fight against the novel coronavirus, Turkey's Embassy in Baku said on Sunday.

The shipment included 30 ventilators, 55,000 overalls, 50,000 N95 face masks, 100,000 surgical masks, 5,000 glasses, 200,000 gloves, and 40,000 boxes of various medicines, said the embassy statement.

It stressed that the aid sent to Azerbaijan is a "strong manifestation of the brotherhood" of the two countries' presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev.

The fight against the pandemic will only succeed if all countries show cooperation and solidarity, it added.

Reiterating that Turkey has so far provided aid to nearly 140 countries to support their fight against COVID-19, the embassy expressed hope that the aid sent to Baku will contribute to the country's coronavirus battle.

Azerbaijan has so far confirmed 19,801 cases, with nearly 11,300 recoveries and 241 fatalities.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country to date has sent medical aid to 138 countries to help them combat the pandemic.

Since it originated in China last December, around 11.3 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries topping 6 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll currently stands at over 531,000.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev in Ankara