On the eve of last Friday, March 20, REACH24H received an urgent request by the Federal Ministry of Health of Germany. The request was a purchase order for 4 million medical masks and was received through REACH24H’s Chemlinked B2B platform. Shortly after the request was received a contract was signed in which the German Federal Ministry of Health formally commissioned REACH24H to send 2 million FFP2 masks and 2 million disposable medical masks to Germany. Immediately after receiving the order Reach24h contacted our contracted qualified PPE manufacturers to ensure the availability of the specific mask types.  By 9:00 p.m., the REACH24H team had picked seven qualified suppliers from different provinces across China that were able to deliver stock immediately.

By March 21, after logistics were organized and deliveries were coordinated and sent to Pudong airport the 4 million units of PPE were loaded on a chartered flight organized by the German government and sent to Germany. The time taken from the initial receipt of the request to the takeoff of the chartered flight was just 24 hours.

The rapid spread of coronavirus across Europe is placing a huge burden on the health services of countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. One of the early revelations in our collective fight against COVID-19 is the worryingly high incidence of infections in under-resourced health care workers. The high-risk scenarios these health care workers operate in, and their proximity to COVID-19 patients have placed health care workers at far greater risk than the general public.

Empirical evidence has shown us that high viral load on initial infection is a significant determinant of overall prognosis. Studies in Wuhan have shown that if adequate PPE protection was provided to healthcare workers risk of infection could be significantly reduced or, as was shown in Wuhan, effectively eliminated.

China is the world’s largest protective masks manufacturing and exporting country. China has now controlled the spread of SARS-COV-2. PPE production capacity is now relatively stable. As the world’s largest manufacturing base for medical devices, China is now the target of most nations across the globe, looking to replenish rapidly depleting stocks of PPE.

REACH24H’s B2B platform will continue to help suppliers of medical equipment, medical devices, and PPE to connect with countries around the world and help in the global battle with COVID-19. To learn about the B2B platform, visit https://b2bsource.chemlinked.com/.

One more day, one more proud story for REACH24H in the global battle against the COVID-19.