Isha Sesay
THE Government of the Balearic Islands has chartered a Russian cargo plane to bring vital medical supplies from China to Mallorca in the fight against coronavirus.
The aircraft will land at Son Sant Joan airport on March 30 and will be stockpiled with over 17 tonnes of equipment and basic provisions.
This will include ICU respirators, rapid COVID-19 tests and protective equipment for health professionals and patients, such as clinical face masks and gowns.
These will be distributed at hospitals across the island, with a proportion being taken by boat to Ibiza and Menorca.
Flying in from Shanghai, the Tupolev TU-134 aircraft is frequently used by the Russian Army to transport goods and will travel 9,928 kilometres to reach Mallorca.
The Ministry of Health said this will be the first of a series of planes to arrive for this purpose since the demand for supplies has grown exponentially in the Balearic Islands.
As a result, the President of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, mounted an emergency operation with approval from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to ensure medical supplies would be guaranteed.
In recent days, healthcare professionals and unions have complained about the lack of resources at hospitals to halt the spread of the virus.
The Balearic Medical Union SIMEBAL claimed the shortage has resulted in a high number of medical personnel becoming infected.
According to data released by the Ministry of Health, 137 have COVID-19 and a further 430 are being actively monitored for the virus.
It comes as the Balearic Islands confirmed 95 more infections yesterday, the highest number recorded in one day.
This brings the total number of cases to 775 with the death toll currently standing at 26.
Of these fatalities, 25 people died in Mallorca and one person lost their life in Ibiza.
