FedEx workers load the protective suits onto a plane for shipment to the US. (Photo: twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

“This morning, 450,000 protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas. This was made possible because of the partnership of two great American companies - DuPont and FedEx - and our friends in Vietnam. Thank you!” he wrote on his Twitter account on April 9 morning (Hanoi time).

US President Donald Trump says thanks on Twitter

This is the first of the two shipments of made-in-Vietnam DuPont protective suits to the US as part of cooperation between the two countries to expedite the delivery of equipment to serve the fight against COVID-19 in the US.

The US Department of Health and Human Services contracted FedEx Express to expedite the delivery of the suits to the US Strategic National Stockpile in order to address the urgent need for protective equipment for front line staff responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US.

The US and Vietnamese governments have cooperated extensively in health care and the COVID-19 fight in particular. Since the beginning of this crisis, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have been collaborating with Vietnamese competent agencies to monitor and respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation.

According to US Ambassador to Vietnam Dan Kritenbrink, over the past 20 years, the US has allocated more than 706 million USD in health assistance for Vietnam, and over the past decade has provided substantial technical and financial support to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging and serious infectious diseases.

Most recently, the USAID announced 2.9 million USD in additional health assistance to help the Vietnamese government to accelerate laboratory systems; strengthen case-finding and event-based surveillance; and support technical experts for rapid response, risk communication, and infection prevention and control.

Previously, Vietnam had also presented medical supplies to many other countries, including Laos, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, to assist them in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.VNA

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