Bob Mackin
A cargo plane arrived April 12 at Vancouver International Airport from Shanghai, carrying millions of pieces of personal protective equipment.
CargoJet PPE flight from Shanghai on April 12 in Vancouver (theBreaker.news Exclusive)
The CargoJet Boeing 767 later continued on to Edmonton with gear earmarked for Canadian healthcare workers on the frontlines in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
A CargoJet flight also arrived April 11 at YVR, en route to Hamilton. The company said it the gear totalled 75,000 pounds. Costs have not been released.
British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix said 109,500 N95 respirators, 51,000 face shields and 1.2 million gloves arrived over Easter weekend.
“Our supply continues to arrive in amounts that’s keeping us ahead of the need,” Dix said at an April 13 news conference. “We’d love to say we’re in a position that where we’re flush for a long time. That is still no longer the case. We still have to work on this, both on the supply side and ensuring that we use PPE properly.”
The CargoJet deliveries are part of the better-late-than-never effort to outfit doctors, nurses, paramedics and others.
Just over two months ago, the head of the World Health Organization said demand was 100 times normal and prices 20 times higher than normal for masks, respirators, goggles, gloves and gowns. Stockpiles were exhausted and factory orders backlogged as much as six months.
Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations donation at VGH on April 9 (Dawa)
That did not stop the Trudeau Liberal government from shipping a 16-tonne donation to China in early February. Around the same time, business and cultural groups in Metro Vancouver that are loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and its United Front foreign influence campaign, went on a buying spree.
The Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations sent hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of scarce Canadian PPE to China.
Just before Easter weekend, CACA said it donated $120,000 worth of PPE and cash to Vancouver-area hospitals.
CACA head Yongtao Chen traveled last year as a guest of the Chinese government to the national congress and celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Communist Party rule.
- Looking for information on how to keep yourself and others healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic? Do you have symptoms? Click here for all you need to know, from HealthLinkBC.
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