Alibaba's Jack Ma donating coronavirus test kits, masks to US, Europe, Africa
The Chinese billionaire says shipments of test kits and face masks are on the way.
Jack Ma, co-founder of e-commerce giant
Alibaba
, is donating millions of coronavirus test kits and face masks to the US, Europe and Africa.
On Friday in a statement shared on Twitter, the Chinese billionaire said the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation would donate 500,000 test kits and 1 million face masks to the US. Alibaba Group confirmed the donation to CNET.
On Sunday, Ma joined Twitter and tweeted an image of the "first shipment" of face masks and test kits, saying it was taking off from Shanghai. It's unclear who is receiving or distributing them.
A lack of test kits has so far prevented the US from assessing the full extent of the virus' spread.
On Monday, the Jack Ma Foundation also announced donations to Europe and Africa.
As of Monday, coronavirus deaths worldwide have topped 6,700, with 175,000 confirmed cases. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.
"Drawing from my own country's experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are the most effective in preventing the spread of the virus," Ma said in the statement shared Friday on Twitter. "We can't beat this virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons."