China's Changsha donates 40,000 medical masks to U.S. sister city Annapolis

Annapolis, the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland, has received 40,000 protective face masks from its sister city Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

The donation was first offered to officials in Annapolis in April, when the need for masks among public safety workers was at its highest in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement by Annapolis City Manager David Jarrell.

Face masks. [File Photo: VCG]

The masks arrived in August with a note from Yani Xiao from Changsha's Foreign Affairs Office: "We sincerely wish you and everyone in Annapolis continued good health, and the fortitude to persevere during this challenging period."

CGTN spoke to Kevin J. Simmons, Director of the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management about this donation.

"Thank you to the great people of Changsha," he told us. "The gift was very helpful. I appreciate their goodwill and their kindness." "The pandemic hit China first," Simmons added. "So they had more experience in dealing with this, more knowledge and experience than the United States."

He also said he would love to visit Changsha after the pandemic to thank its people in person.