Ammon News -

Germany donated 5 million protective surgical masks, with a total value of $1.57million, to the Ministry of Health, through the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Jordan; in support of Jordan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are very grateful to the people and government of Germany for their continued assistance in our battle against COVID-19. Protecting frontline health workers is vital to us, and these donations will help us achieve this goal," Health Minister, Fares Hawwari said, according to a Jordan's WHO office statement on Sunday.

"This shipment of surgical masks confirms that we stand with our Jordanian partners in these difficult times in order to reduce the pressure on health workers who are grappling with this constantly changing pandemic, and it is important that we all contribute to stopping the spread of the virus and continue to follow preventive measures," Germany's Ambassador to Jordan, Bernhard Kampmann, said.

For her part, the WHO representative in Jordan, Jamila Al-Ruaibi, said: "We appreciate the timely donation of Germany as a support for Jordan to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic."

She added that personal protective equipment is essential to contain the spread of infection among staff of health care providers, noting that the organization also appreciates the German support for the organization's health emergency program in Jordan at an amount of $500,000.

The WHO urged the international community to continue fighting the pandemic.