TURKEY delivered 250,000 item of personal protective equipment (PPE) to RAF Brize Norton for medical staff in the UK.

The vital supplies, which are used to protect NHS staff against coronavirus, arrived on Friday at the Oxfordshire site for distribution around the country.

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Following an agreement between the UK and Turkey, the country supplied 50,000 N-95 face masks, 100,000 surgical masks and 100,000 protective suits.

Oxford Mail:

The supplies will be taken to a regional NHS distribution hub to be delivered to medical centres across the country.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "The delivery of this vital equipment will bring protection and relief to thousands of critical workers across the UK as they bravely and tirelessly work to keep us safe.

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"It is also a tribute to the strong bilateral ties with our ally Turkey and I am immensely grateful for their kind gesture."

He added: "As NATO Allies we can always depend on each other, whatever the threats we face."

Oxford Mail:

Flights bringing Britons back to the UK following the worsening of the outbreak in China also arrived at RAF Brize Norton.

The delivery on Friday by Turkey comes after 37 tonnes of UK aid was supplied by an RAF C-17 last month to those affected by the crisis on its border with Syria.

The UK has also received 60 ventilator units from the German army, as the outbreak continues. There have now been more than 12,000 deaths confirmed in the UK's hospitals of patients with Covid-19, with many NHS staff complaining about a lack of PPE as they work to treat those with the virus.