What can you do to support front-line efforts to treat Coronavirus?
GiftBasketsOverseas.com is proud to announce its efforts to provide critical personal protective gear to hospitals in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and urges its customers and fans to help. As the Western world starts to see the first deaths and worsening projections from COVID-19, one thing is clear: Hospitals are being flooded with cases, while doctors and nurses lack gear needed to protect themselves and others from virus transmission. Sadly, without sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the very people capable of helping others survive this illness risk succumbing to it and becoming vectors for it themselves. According to George Gao, director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the most important pieces of PPE are masks that can reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Another thing has become clear: To fight COVID-19, we’ll all have to work together to do our parts, from social distancing to making sure everyone gets what they need, we’re in this together. That’s why we’re making it possible to add your donation of KN95 masks to hospitals with every gift you send. Plus, for every $4 mask donation you apply to a gift, we’ll match your donation dollar for dollar, doubling the number of masks we can deliver to hospitals on your behalf.
It’s never been more important to reach out to loved ones, friends, and colleagues – at a safe distance – with gifts of care packages, comfort food, and treats to make isolation a little sweeter. Now your gifts can also help us send important protective masks directly to the health care providers who need them most, while safely social distancing in the comfort of your home. Just choose a gift from GiftBasketsOverseas.com’s online catalog of gifts for international delivery, and add it to your cart. When you’re checking out, you’ll be prompted to choose Gift Options; just add on the $4 option to donate KN95 masks, we’ll match your donation, and arrange the delivery of the masks. If you’re making a bulk order, mention mask donation on your order form, and we’ll add the donation to each gift in your order.
As of March 28, 2020, we sent the first few dozen masks we received to doctors in New York. With your help, we can send 1000s more around the most affected areas of the United States and Worldwide. Our company is still continuously delivering gifts of care and support in most locations Internationally. However, there are several affected areas on complete lockdown. Our team is working night and day to keep our website updated with where we can deliver, and to update each order personally.
How Do We Reduce COVID-19 Spread? Advice From China
To learn more about how coronavirus spreads, how to protect ourselves and others, and what the response is looking like around the world, we’ve turned to the WHO and CDC, of course, but also to our colleagues around the world who have a bird’s eye view of the pandemic’s progression in their regions. We are most thankful for our valued gift delivery partners from China, who currently have the most experience with the virus itself, and the measures needed to control it. Thanks to Yikun Wang, we have pictures from China taken on March 28, 2020. We are eager to share them with you to give you some first-hand insight into what is going on.
We also have to thank Yikun Wang and our colleagues in China for their priceless advice on protecting ourselves and each other. They suggested a number of personal measures along with measures that ought to be taken by Mayors and State Governments. The first step, and one that many people in the West have overlooked, is masks that fit tightly to the face and can filter even small particulates. While these masks do not stop the virus completely, they are essential to reducing the spread of droplets from people who are already infected, and an absolutely critical part of full protective gear for doctors and nurses treating patients infected with coronavirus.
Next, Yikun tells us, temperature-taking must become a normal part of the daily routine. In China, people are tracking their temperatures with apps, and most public areas require temperature checks. This is essential because the next step to slowing the virus’s spread is lockdown: People with symptoms, including fever, must be isolated to reduce spread.
At this point, the steps to reduce spread become far more community-based, and require government intervention. Food supply and delivery chains must remain intact so that isolated people can continue to survive without having to come to work or risk community spread. Virus testing must become easily accessible and trackable. Yikun recommends then all buildings must be disinfected, and entry personnel must be isolated for at least 14 days.
She tells us that hospitals should be the last line of defense. While many people remain asymptomatic or experience mild cases, for those who suffer severe cases, the disease is devastating, often requiring respirators, ventilators, and intense personal care. People and governments must take the first steps to reduce the spread, in order to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed when severe cases inevitably come in. These steps have helped the Chinese government get to the point where they can begin easing social distancing restrictions.
Yikun reminds us that it is important not to miss that critical first step: Using the right masks to reduce spread of COVID-19. She has put her money where her mouth is and already donated KN95 masks to help us deliver them to the healthcare workers who need them most. We want to thank Yikun for the extra masks she added at her own expense to help our donation effort.
These pictures were taken in Tianjin Dayuecheng Mall, Tianjin China
What Have We Learned From China about COVID-19?
Our colleagues in China have a lot of wisdom to share about surviving these troubling times together. Perhaps the most important lesson we can take from them is that it will take monumental cooperation from individuals and regional governments to do what is necessary to squash this pandemic until a vaccine is widely available. Second, when the local government is not the fastest to take action, we should help our hospitals with masks and PPE. These masks are our first line of defense to keep from spreading coronavirus even further. They’re so important, the CDC published new guidelines for the use and reuse of N95 respirators. What else have we learned?
– Masks are critical to healthcare workers fighting the pandemic in hospitals, and they don’t have enough.
– Masks reduce the spread of COVID-19, and should be worn by anyone with symptoms of COVID-19.
– We can help by sending masks to hospitals, and by wearing them ourselves if we’ve been exposed and must interact with others.
Donate Masks to Hospitals – a program by GiftBasketsOverseas.com
In response to the extreme shortage of masks for doctors and nurses in hospitals and senior care facilities, GiftBasketsOverseas.com started a donation program. Our partner in China helps us to source masks and ship them to our US address in bulk. Customers can now choose to add a $4 USD donation toward the purchase of KN95 masks which is matched at 100% by our company up to the first 1,000 masks. This means that for every dollar put into the donation, we at GiftBasketsOverseas.com match it, doubling the masks we can donate. Even after the matching period is over, 100% of the dollar amount of every donation will go directly toward the purchase and delivery of protective gear for hospitals.This is only our first response to the crisis: More ways and items to donate are coming soon. Help us help hospitals, send a gift to someone you love with a mask donation today.
We hope that you, your family, and your loved ones stay safe during this Coronavirus pandemic.
Dmitriy founded GiftBasketsOverseas.com and associated brands back in 2002. During the last 12+ years he transformed the company into a Global operation in 200+ countries with the goal to help people build relationships Worldwide through gifting.