Twenty-five tonnes of crucial medical items for hospital staff treating coronavirus patients is on its way to Italy from China aboard a Neos flight, foreign minister Luigi di Maio tweeted on Tuesday. The items include face masks, gloves, ventilators, protective hazmat suits and testing kits, said the tweet.
A total 1.5 million face masks, 155 ventilators, 205,000 pairs of latex gloves, 1,000 hazmat suits and 1,000 coronavirus testing kits, according to the tweet.
Italy's embassy in China coordinated the flight together with the foreign ministry, Di Maio tweeted separately.
"We won't stop until we receive all the items Italy needs," wrote Di Maio.
Italian diplomatic staff around the world are working "around the clock" to source the vital supplies needed by frontline medical staff so they can fight the coronavirus "safely" read an earlier tweet.
Italy has become the global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19 has killed 6,820 people - more than any other country - and infected 54,030 people in the country, officials said on Tuesday.
