TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States looks to be worsening, a group of Taiwanese businesspeople donated masks to the Los Angeles County town of Torrance, reports said Tuesday (Nov. 24).

In June, the Taiwanese-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles (TACCLA) launched a drive to find one million face masks, CNA reported. Since then, the group has been donating the masks to 11 institutions and organizations, including hospitals, retirement homes, firehouses, and police stations.

When the pandemic seemed to subside, the action slowed, but in recent weeks, a new wave has erupted, leading to the number of daily new infections in Los Angeles County to exceed 6,000.

TACCLA started its collection up again, resulting in the official handover of 30,000 Made-in-Taiwan masks by the association’s president, Kenneth Chen (陳慶恩), to Torrance Mayor Patrick Furey on Monday (Nov. 23). The city leader emphasized safety in the run-up to Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) but acknowledged that many citizens only had cloth masks, not the surgical variety offered by the Taiwanese association.

A representative of the Taiwanese office in Los Angeles described the donation as the latest example of the country’s ability to help the world, illustrating the slogan “Taiwan Can Help” printed on the boxes of masks.