LUSAKA — China on May 4 handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19.

The face masks comprise 30,000 from Jilin province and 20,000 from the Chinese Embassy in Zambia.

Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, who handed over the face masks during a ceremony, said with the third wave reported in the country, the donation was China's commitment to supporting the university to combat the pandemic.

The Chinese envoy said since the emergence of the pandemic the two countries have stood together, with Zambia giving support when the pandemic hit the Asian nation and China responding through the provision of medical supplies when Zambia was hit by the pandemic.

He added that Chinese enterprises in the African country have made donations to help the country deal with the pandemic.

Luke Mumba, the university's Vice-Chancellor, commended China for the donation, saying it will go a long way in helping protect the university community and control the spread of the pandemic among students and staff members.

The donation, he said, was timely as it comes at a time when the country has been hit with the third wave of the pandemic which has resulted in a surge in cases.

"It is a continued demonstration of our very warm strong ties with the people of China," he said.

Zambia's cumulative cases currently stood at 98,376.