'Disappointment' over delivery of 10,000 face masks and 400 pairs of goggles from Sunderland's Chinese twin city

It is ‘disappointing’ a promised shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) took more than two months to arrive from China on Wearside, opposition chiefs have said.
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Leaders in the city of Harbin, which is twinned with Sunderland, pledged to send vital care supplies at the height of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.

The consignment of 10,000 masks and 400 pairs of goggles finally arrived last week, prompting praise from bosses at Sunderland City Council for the ‘generous civic gesture of friendship’.

But some have been more sceptical about the gift.

Leaders in the city of Harbin, which is twinned with Sunderland, pledged to send vital care supplies at the height of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.Leaders in the city of Harbin, which is twinned with Sunderland, pledged to send vital care supplies at the height of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.
Leaders in the city of Harbin, which is twinned with Sunderland, pledged to send vital care supplies at the height of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.
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“It’s great to see more PPE arriving in the city to protect key workers, however the fact that it has taken two months to arrive is disappointing,” said Coun Dominic McDonough, a member of the city council’s Conservative opposition group.

“I hope that our council has looked at more local sources of PPE such as Barbour and Nissan to support local workers as they simply cannot wait this long for future supplies.”

Sunderland’s ‘Friendship Agreement’ with Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, was first signed in 2009 and renewed in 2014.

Wearside also has similar schemes in place with Essen, in Germany; Saint-Nazaire, in France, and Washington DC.

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The PPE shipment, which was first announced in April, includes disposable non-surgical masks and goggles suitable for ‘day-to-day indoor or outdoor work, or wearing on public transport’.

City council leader Graeme Miller said: “COVID-19 has not gone away and we will find a positive use for this generous donation from our friends in Harbin.

“It’s a testament to the bonds and strengths that we have with Harbin that this offer was made.”

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