On March 13th, Jack Ma, the richest man in China and co-founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced his plan to donate 1 million face masks and 500,000 coronavirus test kits to the U.S.
Jack explained in a Twitter post:
Drawing from my own country’s experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are the most effective in preventing the spread of the virus. We can’t beat this virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons. We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a ‘pandemic‘ on March 11th. As of March 13th in the afternoon, 1,875 people in the United States had tested positive for the coronavirus. 4 days later on the 17th, over 5000 Americans had tested positive. Public health officials believe that thousands of people most likely have the virus but don’t know it yet and the question of how prolific America’s community spread is looming. SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the infection COVID-19, has a 5-day incubation average, so someone could potentially spread it on without knowing they were sick.
President Trump declared a national emergency due to the coronavirus on March 13th, which freed up additional resources for the local, state, and federal governments fighting the disease. He also promised that there would be new drive-thru testing locations around the nation.
Jack said:
This is a big epidemic challenge faced by mankind in an era of globalization. To this day, it is no longer a challenge any country can overcome by itself, but one that all of us need to face together hand-in-hand. Right now, only when we share resources without judgment and exchange counter-epidemic experience and lessons can we have the chance to defeat this disaster.
This is not the first time Jack has donated towards fighting this ‘pandemic.’ On March 12th, he announced that he would be sending 100,000 coronavirus test kits and 1.8 million face masks to the European countries which were hit hardest by the virus, including Italy and Spain. “Although we live thousands of miles apart, we will race against the clock in hopes of providing emergency help to [the countries in need] and overcoming difficulties together,” said Jack.
Also, in January, he gave around $13 million to Chinese scientists who are working on a vaccine for the virus. According to Jack, about $2.8 million of the funds would go to both the Chinese Academy of Engineering & the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the development of virus vaccines. The remaining funds will support foreign and domestic top scientific research institutions and researchers to collaborate on finding a cure.
The WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said:
Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death. Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do. We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.
Scientists haven’t figured out a vaccine for COVID-19 yet, but hopefully, Jack’s donations will help them in their mission.
