Montgomery County Receives 20,000 Masks from its Sister City in Xi’an, China

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Montgomery County’s Sister City, Xi’an, in China has generously donated 20,000 masks to protect Montgomery County frontline workers during the COVID-19 health crisis. In 2013, Montgomery County established a “Sister City” relationship with the city of Xi’an, which is home to 12 million residents and the famous Terra Cotta Warriors. The Department of General Services (DGS) received the masks at its warehouse in Gaithersburg on June 19, and DGS staffers are now cataloguing the masks for distribution.

“This generous donation from our Sister City Xi’an reinforces the importance of diplomacy and international cooperation during these challenging times,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “These masks will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our community and protect our most vulnerable residents. I want to thank our counterparts in Xi’an for reaching out to offer a donation, unsolicited, and our partners in Montgomery Sister Cities and Xi’an Sister City Committee for their financial and logistical assistance in receiving this donation. Thanks also to the Office of Community Partnerships, the Northwestern Chinese American Association of Greater Washington and Delegate Lily Qi for helping facilitate delivery of the masks. The Montgomery County Department of General Services staff and County volunteers have worked tirelessly over the past few months to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline workers; and this donation is greatly appreciated. Thank you to our friends in Xi’an.”

The County’s response to COVID-19 has required extensive work by planning and operational teams to develop and implement distribution systems of PPE, including N95 and surgical masks, gowns, gloves, and hand sanitizer to nursing homes, senior living communities, hospitals, medical offices, frontline County staff, essential childcare providers, and food distribution volunteers. As the County continues to respond to the health crisis and continues the deliberate and cautious reopening process, the availability of PPE will be essential in allowing the County to reopen safely and reduce the chances of a second wave of infections.

Montgomery Sister Cities, Inc. was established in 2009 to connect Montgomery County to the world by encouraging and fostering friendship, partnership, and mutual cooperation through educational, cultural, social, economic, humanitarian, and charitable exchanges between the people of Montgomery County and people from various nations around the world and is staffed by the Office of Community Partnerships.

For the latest Montgomery County updates during the health crisis, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

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Release ID: 20-337
Media Contact: Barry Hudson 240-300-7348