ALGIERS, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Sunday received the first order of medical equipment from China to combat COVID-19, Prime Minister Office said in a statement.
Two military cargo planes arrived on Sunday at Algiers International Airport, carrying a load of medical equipment worth 4.95 million U.S. dollars from the Chinese city of Shanghai, the statement said.
Hailing the army's effort to bring this order from China within 48 hours, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, who was accompanied by Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid, told reporters at the airport that the two planes carried 8.5 million 3-ply surgical masks and 100,000 FFP2 filter masks.
He added that the second order will be delivered by China in the coming weeks, saying Algeria "will make every effort to get rid of this pandemic sooner or later."
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said last week that Algeria ordered 100 million surgical masks and 30,000 screening kits from China, as part of the North African nation's efforts to stem the spread of the virus.
Earlier on Sunday, Djamel Fourar, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission, said at a press briefing that the death toll from the virus reached 152, while total infections hit 1,320.
