Bridget Collier, Political Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, and Tran Thai Son, an official from the Vietnam National Children's Hospital, witness the transportation of the face masks from Hanoi to Hai Phong before being shipped to Timor-Leste (Photo: VNA)

Australia had arranged the transportation of the batch of face masks from Hanoi to Dili by sea.

Timor-Leste has also been hit by floods and landslides triggered by tropical cyclone Seroja which causes damage across the country including its national medical warehouse.

Peter Roberts, Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, said COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian country have increased rapidly over the recent months.

Medical centres, bridges and thousands of houses in the country have also been damaged or destroyed, he said, adding that essential health services have been disrupted by floods and thousands of people have to evacuate to safer places.

Therefore, the face masks granted by Vietnam will significantly contribute to Timor-Leste’s fight against COVID-19 and especially ensuring safety for medical workers on the frontline of the combat.

Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said through this cooperation, Australia and Vietnam have jointly helped Timor-Leste in the COVID-19 fight.

She described this as an example of practical collaboration between Vietnam and Australia within the framework of the strategic partnership, and as a demonstration of Vietnam’s increasing leadership in settling regional challenges.

According to worldometers.info, Timor-Leste, which has a population of 1.2 million, has to date recorded 2,870 COVID-19 cases with four deaths./.

BTA