Chinese automaker makes donations to support Nigeria's COVID-19 fight

LAGOS -- Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile (GAC Group) has donated about $51,000 to Nigeria to support its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Wednesday.

GAC Group's chairperson in Nigeria, Diana Chen said the company's efforts include donations of an ambulance and 50,000 surgical face masks to health authorities in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, and other parts of the nation.

The company has to join notable figures pushing the frontlines in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the West African country, said Chen in a statement sent to Xinhua.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Nigeria, the government has stopped international and domestic passenger flights, closed all educational institutions and extended a lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, among other measures to curb the spread of the virus.

The Consulate-General of China in Lagos in partnership with the Overseas Chinese Association in Nigeria last Friday donated about $91,000 and medical supplies to the government of Lagos to help the state fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.