China’s Beijing Municipal Trade and Commerce Bureau donates 2,000 COVID-19 test kits valued at USD $30,000 to Nepal in March 2020

On March 25, 2020, China’s Beijing Municipal Trade and Commerce Bureau donated 2,000 COVID-19 test kits to Nepal. The test kits have an estimated value of USD $30,000. These tests were donated in response to the lack of testing facilities in Nepal. A handover ceremony was held for this donation at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing where the tests were handed over for delivery to Nepal. According to the Embassy, the tests were shipped to Tibet, China on March 25, 2020 to await land shipping to Nepal. However, the shipment of kits was delayed in Lhasa, Tibet over quality concerns. The shipment of COVID-19 tests did not fall under the list of testing kits approved by the National Medical Products Administration. The kits were found to not be exportable due to this sub-standard quality and delivery of the kits to Nepal has not been confirmed.

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