After darkness, there is the much brighter sun’: Turkey sends planeloads of emergency equipment including masks and protective suits to Britain in poetry-inscribed boxes to help UK medics battling coronavirus
Turkey today began sending planeloads of emergency equipment to Britain to help medics fighting coronavirus.
The first flight from Ankara took off today carrying personal protective equipment including surgical masks, N95 industrial masks and hazmat suits, with a second flight due to take off on Saturday, according to the defence ministry.
The items were sent in boxes displaying the words of 13th century Sufi Poet Jalaluddin Rumi: ‘After hopelessness, there is so much hope and after darkness, there is the much brighter sun.’
It came as the German army said it was donating 60 mobile ventilators to the NHS as officials scramble to get enough life-saving equipment to meet the expected peak of the coronavirus epidemic.
In the past weeks, Turkey has similarly donated medical supplies to Italy, Spain – who like the UK are Nato allies – as well as five countries in the Balkans.
‘At the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Armed Forces aircraft that will transport to (the) United Kingdom the medical aid supplies prepared by Turkey’s Health Ministry to be used in the fight against COVID-19 has departed Etimesgut/Ankara,’ the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
Anadolu Agency said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had thanked Turkey in a phone conversation on Wednesday with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, describing it as an ‘indication of strong friendship between the two countries.’
The German embassy to Britain today confirmed a report in Der Spiegel that the Bundeswehr would be sending ventilators to the UK as soon as possible.
A statement on the embassy’s Twitter feed said: ‘Support for our friends in the UK – the Bundeswehr is donating 60 mobile ventilators to the UK.’
The NHS is currently reported to have around 10,000 ventilators – still some 8,000 short of the 18,000 which Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said will be required.
The Government has appealed to British manufacturers to fill the gap, but, while a number of firms have come forward, it is taking time to gear up production.