UPS To airlift more than 2M masks and protective gear to China

ATLANTA, Jan. 31, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS (NYSE: UPS), announced today it is providing free air transportation of more than 2 million respirator masks and 11,000 protective coveralls to China to help combat the spread of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China.

Working with MAP International and MedShare, two Georgia-based nonprofit global health organizations, the UPS operated flight is being coordinated through the Red Cross Society of China and the recipient organization Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with Project HOPE.

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"The world needs strong public-private partnerships to help contain the spread of this deadly virus and The UPS Foundation is expanding its humanitarian relief network to support our partners in providing supply chain expertise and air transport," said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer. "The UPS Foundation is a member of the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) and the Private Sector Roundtable (PSRT) for the Global Health Security Group on Pandemic Preparedness. We have developed a global network of relief agencies to help bring aid to communities in crisis, in this case, to bring medical aid to healthcare workers in China."

This UPS humanitarian flight will address a critical shortage of personal protective equipment available in China and includes more than:

 -- 2 million respirator masks       -- 11,000 protective suits       -- 280,000 pairs of nitrile gloves

The coronavirus is spreading rapidly in China. More than 9,700 cases have been reported and more than 200 people have died. The virus has been reported in more than 23 countries globally and there are five reported cases in the United States (all of whom are individuals recently returning from Wuhan, China).

"We are grateful to our partners MAP International and MedShare, along with generous product donors and PSCN and PSRT network partners Henry Schein, 3M and others, for helping UPS respond to the coronavirus outbreak," said Martinez. "Working together we hope to contain and help eradicate the epidemic."

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Last year, The UPS Foundation responded to 28 major world disasters and invested more than $20 million in funding, in-kind, and technical support for community safety initiatives that included enhancing preparedness, urgent disaster response, recovery and public health strengthening. Building the resiliency that communities need to better withstand and recover from future disasters is an ongoing and strategically important aspect of UPS's Humanitarian Relief & Resilience Program. Also last year, The UPS Foundation provided in-kind support of humanitarian aid and relief across 74 countries -- almost $6.5 million worth of in-kind services -- including loaned experts and relief shipments leveraging UPS's owned and contracted global network in the air, on the ground, over railroads and on the ocean.

For more information about The UPS Foundation's philanthropic giving and volunteerism efforts, please visit UPS.com/Foundation.