Coronavirus: Russia sends plane with medical equipment to the US

The US now has the highest number of coronavirus cases worldwide

The Manhattan skyline rises over the Borough of Brooklyn on March 31, 2020 in New York. AFP

A shopper and cashier wear protective equipment at the checkout station at Pat's Farms grocery store in Merrick, New York. AFP

Paramedics push a gurney with a patient to Brooklyn Hospital Centre Emergency Room in the Brooklyn borough of New York. AFP

A New York Police officer stands guard in an almost empty Times Square during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease. Reuters

A mounted police officer rides though a mostly deserted Times Square during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in the Manhattan. Reuters

A man wears personal protective equipment as he walks on First Avenue, during the coronavirus disease outbreak in New York City. Reuters

A New York City Police officer takes a selfie while in the middle of the street in an almost empty Times Square. Reuters

The US Navy hospital ship carrying 1,000 hospital beds moves past the Statue of Liberty as it arrives in New York. AFP 

A medical worker walks out of a coronavirus testing tent at Brooklyn Hospital Centre in New York City. AFP

A worker cleans along the Las Vegas Strip devoid of the usual crowds as casinos and other business are shuttered due to the coronavirus outbreak. AP

Members of the US Army Corps of Engineer Research Development Centre’s Directorate of Public Works construct two temporary hospital room prototypes in Vicksburg. The Vicksburg Post via AP

Carol Talkington helps Terri Bonasso tape a notice on the emergency room door following a vigil at the closing of the Fairmont Regional Medical Centre in Fairmont. Times-West Virginian via AP

A motel sign is lit along a quiet Sunset Boulevard at dusk amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 31, 2020 in Los Angeles. AFP

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a virtual press briefing on March 25, 2020. Bloomberg

A Russian cargo plane carrying masks and other medical supplies arrived in the United States on Wednesday to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump accepted aid from Russian President Vladimir Putin after they discussed the crisis in a phone call on Monday.

Mr Trump is struggling to fill shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment as the US tries to contain the largest outbreak of the virus worldwide, with more than 215,000 confirmed cases by Thursday morning. More than 5,000 people have died from the disease in the US.

A Russian military transport plane left an airfield outside Moscow and arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy airport on Wednesday afternoon. Usually, the United States donates supplies to embattled countries rather than accepting them. The origin of the delivery, which Moscow called aid, was bound to revive criticism from Democrats that Trump has been too cozy with the Russian leader.

"Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency on Tuesday. Mr Trump himself spoke enthusiastically about the Russian help after his call with Putin.

The State Department said that following the call between the two leaders, the United States "has agreed to purchase" needed medical supplies, including ventilators and personal protection equipment, from Russia and that they were handed over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday in New York City.

"We are a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world, but we cannot do it alone," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said.

"Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future," she added. "This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us."

A US official in Washington said the shipment carried 60 tons of ventilators, masks, respirators and other items. The official said the equipment would be carefully examined to make sure it comports with the quality requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration.

Russia's Rossiya 24 channel on Wednesday morning showed the plane taking off from a military air base outside Moscow in darkness. Its cargo hold was filled with cardboard boxes and other packages.

In Russia, the official tally of confirmed cases is 2,777, with 24 deaths, although some doctors there have questioned the accuracy of official data.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have been strained in recent years by everything from Syria to Ukraine to US election interference, which Russia denies. Mr Trump spent two years battling a federal investigation into whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday that he and Mr Putin discussed the virus at length. "Russia is being hit pretty hard," he said.

Mr Peskov, Mr Putin's spokesman, said Moscow hoped the United States might also be able to provide medical help to Russia if necessary when the time came.

"It is important to note that when offering assistance to US colleagues, the president (Mr Putin) assumes that when US manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary," Mr Peskov was cited as saying.

He complained that some US officials had made it needlessly difficult to expedite the aid. He was also quoted as saying that Russia and China cooperated in a similar way because "at a time when the current situation affects everyone without exception ... there is no alternative to working together in a spirit of partnership and mutual assistance."

Russia has also used its military to send planeloads of aid to Italy labelled: “From Russia with Love” to combat the spread of the coronavirus, exposing the European Union's failure to provide swift help to a member in crisis and handing Mr Putin a publicity coup at home and abroad.