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Russia Shipped Medical Gear Needed to Curb COVID-19 to US After Trump-Putin Call

Texas Town Orders Residents to Wear Masks or Face $1,000 Fine

Authorities in a South Texas border town said that anyone aged 5 and above not wearing a mask in a range of settings like pumping gas or going into a store could be fined up to $1,000. The Laredo City Council said in a press release Wednesday that, starting Thursday, people “entering into or inside of any building open to the public; when using public transportation, taxis, or ride shares; or when pumping gas,” would have to don masks. Authorities said people would be required to wear “some form of covering over their nose and mouth,” with homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or handkerchiefs all considered acceptable. Violation of the new rule will be considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. The move comes as another 26,000 Americans…

Russia Shipped Medical Gear Needed to Curb COVID-19 to US After Trump-Putin Call

Russia sent the United States medical equipment on Wednesday to help the country fight the COVID-19 pandemic, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the crisis in a phone call on March 30. However some critics say Russia does not have enough for its own needs.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia had paid half the cost with the other half being paid by the United States. According to CTV News, the foreign ministry said the part paid by Russia was sponsored by Russia’s state investment fund.

“The United States has agreed to purchase needed medical supplies, including ventilators and personal protection equipment, from Russia,” State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

A Russian military plane carrying protective gear and ventilators landed in New York City on Wednesday and the equipment was passed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in New York City on the same day.

Russia Shipped Medical Gear Needed to Curb COVID-19 to US After Trump-Putin Call U.S. President Donald Trump (R) attends a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the G-20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

A U.S. official quoted by Reuters said that the shipment contained 60 tons of ventilators, masks, respirators, and other items, and would be examined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ensure it complies with U.S. standards and requirements.

Usually, the United States donates supplies to embattled countries rather than accepting them.

“We are a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world, but we cannot do it alone,” Ortagus said.

“Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future,” Ortagus added. “This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us.”

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin’s spokesman, said Moscow hoped the United States might also be able to provide medical help to Russia if necessary when the time came.

“It is important to note that when offering assistance to U.S. colleagues, the president [Putin] assumes that when U.S. manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary,” Peskov was cited as saying.

Russia Shipped Medical Gear Needed to Curb COVID-19 to US After Trump-Putin Call Boxes with medical equipment and masks to help fight the CCP virus (COVID-19) are seen on board a Russian military transport plane ahead of its departure to the United States of America, at an airdrome outside Moscow, Russia on April 1, 2020, in this screen grab taken from video. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Russia’s shipment of medical necessities to the United States met with some criticism in Russia.

“Russia has actually sold the United States masks and medical equipment when doctors and nurses across the country are left without masks and are infecting one another,” prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny wrote on Twitter.

Novaya Gazeta reported that doctors at a hospital in the Moscow region had been asked to sew their own masks.

Meanwhile, the medical workers trade union has been collecting funds to buy protective clothes for doctors.

Russian Health Ministry said that the country is prepared to curb the virus and has enough ventilators for its own use but some people on Twitter pointed out places experiencing shortages.

There are currently 226,374 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, reported in the United States. The total numbers of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States is 5,316, of which 1,374 occurred in New York City, according to John Hopkins University.

In Russia the total of 3,548 confirmed cases and 30 deaths were reported, according to the same source.

Reuters contributed to this report.

This article is from the Internet:Russia Shipped Medical Gear Needed to Curb COVID-19 to US After Trump-Putin Call

Feds Distribute Thousands of Masks, Gloves Seized From Hoarders to Healthcare Workers

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