UN donates 250K masks to hard-hit New York

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Saturday took delivery of thousands of protective face masks to help in the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the donation of the 250,000 masks, which had just been located in United Nations storage facilities, to the United States for use in hard-hit New York City.

De Blasio hailed the UN for "answering the call" for the city where the insitution's headquarters are located.

Guterres said in statement the United Nations and the US Mission to the UN were working with de Blasio’s office to ensure swift delivery of the masks to medical facilities around New York.