Houston, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations (Bush China Foundation) Monday announced that it has secured Chinese donations of nearly 100,000 masks to U.S. Houston in fighting against COVID-19.

According to the Bush China Foundation, two shipments of 97,000 masks were purchased via donations from three Chinese companies: Asia & America Consultants Ltd., China Prospect Education Group, and Shenzhen Youhua Technology Co. Ltd. The foundation is expecting another 200,000 additional masks next month.

Neil Bush, chairman of the Bush China Foundation made the announcement during a press briefing with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

"Infectious diseases have no borders. To fight this pandemic, to get our city and our country going again, it is critical that people from across the globe find our common humanity. We lock arms and we work together," said Bush at the briefing.

Mayor Turner said the city is thankful to the Bush China Foundation "for securing these much-needed masks to ensure those who need a mask may get one."

The masks, secured through the foundation's Coronavirus Action Network (CAN), will be distributed to the City of Houston, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, Methodist Hospital in Houston and Medical Bridges, said the foundation.

"We are extremely grateful to the Bush China Foundation and donors in China who are providing desperately needed masks," Walter Ulrich, CEO of Medical Bridges. "This generous donation of masks to Medical Bridges will serve 50 charitable clinics and rural hospitals in Texas that will be able to safely continue to serve their communities."

Martin B. Cominsky, CEO of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston commented that "consistent with the mayor's initiative, we plan to distribute these to our vulnerable communities. This PPE will also help equip our volunteers to better serve people in need."

The Coronavirus Action Network (CAN), launched by the Bush China Foundation, is a network of individuals and organizations from both the United States and China that is leveraging the scientific, academic, industrial, non-profit and governmental resources available in both countries to address the key challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

As the outbreak of the disease in the United States, CAN members, such as the Sino US Cooperation (Beijing) Center, have worked diligently to procure additional PPE for communities in the United States.