Jerusalem Post
US Department of Defense give 1 million masks to IDF for coronavirus use
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
APRIL 8, 2020 04:51
The US Department of Defense delivers one million surgical masks to be used by the IDF
(photo credit: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
The masks were procured from China and shipped to Israel in order that the IDF can begin using them within days.
A plane carrying over a million surgical masks for the IDF landed in Ben-Gurion airport Tuesday night, in an operation run by the US Department of Defense's Delegation of Procurement.
"In the past two weeks we have purchased and flown to Israel tens of thousands of swabs, masks, protective suits for medical staff and more," said Limor Kolishevsky, head of the New York Purchasing and Logistics Division.
"A million masks, procured in China, were quickly flown to Israel with the intention that the IDF will be using them within the next few days," he said.
The New York delegation, part of the national procurement effort for medical equipment to fight the coronavirus, works with a with a wide range of international suppliers to purchase essential medical equipment for the IDF according to Kolishevsky.
The IDF has been playing a central role in the fight against coronavirus in Israel. According to an IDF spokesperson, within the last week, soldiers have packed approximately 1,610,000 food and holiday food packages for Israelis; distributed food packages to 118,635 citizens; and distributed a further 15,000 relief boxes to residents of Bnei Brak, which included dry goods, fruit, vegetables and toilet paper.
18,000 IDF commanders and soldiers are involved in the efforts against the coronavirus in Israel, continuing to assist civilians as required.
One of the ways in which they have been helping has been by turning their hands to running residential complexes under the restrictions put in place by the government to slow the rate of the spread of infection. So far, soldiers have been helping at 192 housing groups across the country, and are taking on the management of retirement homes as the residents are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
In addition, 12 hotels have been opened, of which eight are for the care of patients with COVID-19, and four for keeping people in isolation. Four of the hotels are for the orthodox population, with 1,044 patients drawn from that group, and a further 578 people from the orthodox community are in isolation.
10,169 blood donations have also been collected from members of the IDF.
