(LEAD) S. Korea to send more relief items to virus-hit Wuhan

(ATTN: ADDS more details on flight schedule, items in 2nd para)

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will send another batch of relief items to the new coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan later Wednesday as part of its efforts to provide urgent assistance to help the neighboring country cope with the disease, the foreign ministry said.

An Asiana Airlines cargo flight carrying masks, protective clothing and other relief goods will depart from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 11:45 p.m., according to the ministry.

This is the fourth batch of relief provisions for Wuhan, following three deliveries made in late January and early this month. The first two batches were sent via two evacuation flights that brought home South Korean nationals and their families.

The items to be delivered this time include supplies provided by alumni groups with ties to China, South Korean steelmaker POSCO and a provincial government, the ministry added.

Separately, the government is planning to send relief stocks to other regions in the neighboring country, such as Chongqing, Shanghai, Anhui and Zhejiang, under a broader scheme to provide US$5 million worth of support to China.

China's death toll from the COVID-19 has reached nearly 2,000, with the number of confirmed cases topping 74,000. Most of them have come in Hubei province, where Wuhan, the epicenter of the disease, is located.

elly@yna.co.kr
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