COLUMBUS — Columbus-based Cummins Corporation is doing its part to help medical workers in China cope with the coronavirus.
The engine manufacturer has a significant international presence, much of it in China. According to Cummins spokesperson Katie Zarich, Cummins' East Asian Employee Resource Group and the Columbus Chinese Association are raising funds to purchase protective goggles and other supplies for medical professionals at hospitals in the the Wuhan, China area,
Already, the two groups have received $20,000 in donations which will buy goggles to be shipped to Tondji Medical College Hospital in Wuhan.
That's on top of a donation of 10,000 masks from Columbus Regional Hospital. Members of the Columbus Chinese Association hand-delivered the masks to Chicago O'Hare Airport to catch the last flight to China before the airlines stopped flying there.
As for the virus outbreak, the Associated Press reports new coronavirus cases continue to fall as inspectors go door-to-door to find every infected person. Wuhan, where the virus emerged, is near the end of a campaign to root out anyone with symptoms.
Mainland China is reporting 1,749 new cases and 136 additional deaths. Beijing is showing signs of coming back to life with road traffic up from virtually nothing a week ago.
While most restaurants, stores and office buildings remain closed, others have reopened. In Japan, the much-criticized quarantine of a cruise ship is ending Wednesday. With 621 cases, medical experts have called the quarantine a failure.á
