Chinese Billionaire Donates Kits and Masks to the U.S.

The Alibaba Group may be the biggest e-commerce business you've never heard of. However, they are a huge part of the Chinese manufacturing process, linking factories with distributors all over the world. Alibaba founder, Jack Ma announced in his first ever Tweet, that his foundation is donating 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits to the US.In addition, they are also sending 1 million masks. Jack Ma has already donated a large amount of resources to countries most impacted by the virus. These countries include: Japan, Korea, Iran and Italy.In a statement released by the Jack Ma Foundation, they said "...speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus."The COVID-19 virus is thought to only be able to survive outside of the body for 48-72 hours. The shipment does not have an exact arrival date, but is expected to be after that safety window. This would eliminate any possibility of spread from China through these gifts. Pictures posted by Ma show a runway in Shanghai loaded with the supplies they are donating.

Additionally, on March 2, the Jack Ma foundation has pledged to donate to the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in the sum of AU$3.2 million ($2.15 million US) for the development of a vaccine. Furthermore, the billionaire went on to say “We hope that our donation can help Americans fight against the pandemic!” Hopefully this act of goodwill can help us all begin to look past the contention between the US and China, for now. After all, this is truly an event we are all in together.Let us know what you think of the current situation in the comments below!