Maya McFadden Photo
Members of the Yale-China Association receive the donation.
At a time when the Chinese and United States governments are at odds, person-to-person pandemic cooperation was on display Monday on Temple Street.
There, the Yale-China Association received 2,150 N95 respirator masks and 12 boxes of surgical gowns from China partners who are showing their support for New Haven health workers.
The shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) was the second round sent to Yale New Haven and other hospitals by a group of seven Chinese nonprofit organizations known as the “COVID-19 Life Preservation Initiative.” The New Haven shipment is a part of the group’s larger initiative to provide about one million pieces of PPE nationally.
Yale-China Association Executive Director David Youtz said the China-based initiative reached out to him in March offering to donate to the Yale New Haven Hospital in an effort to support the city.
“This is a great demonstration that shows the effective collaboration between American and Chinese people,” Youtz said. We work well together” despite a decline in international relations at the federal government level between the U.S and China.
Two weeks ago the Yale-China Association received more than 150,000 N95 respirator masks, face shields, and surgical gowns for the frontline at Yale New Haven Hospital caring for patients during the pandemic to use.
The international initiative is made up of former Yale students, friends of Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale Medical School, and alumni working in China.
After hearing about the peak of Covid-19 cases in New Haven, people in Changhsa, a New Haven sister city in China, began collecting the PPE to show their support and send their wishes for recovery.
The initiative plans to send more shipments. The next is to come from a hospital in Hunan that was also founded by members of Yale in 1906.
Despite the terrible US-China relations caused by our current President, the people of China do not hate the American people but want to help.
We have hosted many Chinese students over the years and maintain close relationships with their parents in China. As soon as it became obvious that the USA was ill equipped to deal with PPE needs my email was flooded with offers to send the needed good for the first responders in our community.
These parents knew the EMS, Fire and Police personnel protected their children when they were here and wanted to make sure the first responders were protected as well.
We received air shipments of thousands of N95 masks, gloves, gowns and coveralls all of which were donated to our town for first responder use.
Once the needs of the Town were met we have been able to donate to local nursing facilities who were in short supply and to our town social services department who is dispensing masks and gloves from our food pantry.
Not one cent was asked for these kind donations from the Chinese parents.
They and we (my wife and self) are appalled at the damage done by Trump to a fine relationship and it will the people who mend it, not government.