HONG KONG (CNS) -- A Catholic diocese in China's Shaanxi province
has donated thousands of face masks to communities in the Vatican and Italy to
help them fight the coronavirus.
Ucanews.com reported Xi'an Diocese has donated 24,000 disposable
medical masks to the Vatican and religious communities and dioceses in Italy
such as Milan and Bologna.
"When mainland China experienced the epidemic, the Holy See
and the Italian church group helped by sending medical masks. We have now
effectively contained the virus, but Italy is now suffering. It is our turn to
help them," Father Chen Ruixue of Xi'an told ucanews.com.
The coronavirus, he said, "is the public enemy of humanity.
Only when all people work together to fight the disease can we overcome the
pandemic."
The virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan
in December, slowly spreading across the globe.
In China, the "people's economic life is returning to
normal" as the infections have come down, Father Chen said.
As of March 19, China had reported 81,139 COVID-19 cases with
3,253 deaths. However, the number of newly diagnosed cases on March 18 was only
34, all of which were overseas cases. The death toll also came down on March
18, with only eight fatalities.
After China, Italy has become the worst-affected country, with
hundreds of deaths and infections in the past few weeks, killing nearly 3,000
people. At least 475 people died in Italy on March 18 alone.
The Vatican has donated masks to China since January.
Father Chen said he was told the masks the Vatican receives in a
donation would be distributed to "the needy people on the streets, which
is admirable and an urgency."
The Archdiocese of Milan covers the hardest-hit area of Italy,
and some groups and families in Milan have supported the students of the
Shaanxi Theological Institute for many years, he said.
Father Chen also said that several church members had privately
funded the donation.
"Italy needs help now. We will continue to do our best to
raise more materials to donate to them to fight the epidemic," he said.
"We sincerely hope that these donations, however small they are, will help
some people. It will also help promote the friendship between China and the
Vatican, and China and Italy."
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Editors: The original
story can be found at ucanews.com/news/chinese-diocese-donates-masks-to-italy-vatican/87503.