30,000 protective masks against the COVID-19 virus for University of Leipzig Medical Center
Leipzig,
13.05.2020
German-Chinese scientific cooperation organizes delivery from China
Leipzig. The University of Leipzig Medical Center received a delivery of 30,000 protective masks from China. The delivery was initiated by Prof Hartmut Herrmann of the Leipzig University and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) together with professors from Fudan University in Shanghai and Shandong University in Jinan and Qingdao. The masks were manufactured by the company Shandong Aida Medical Products in Weifang in the Chinese province of Shandong. The 10 packages were transported in two shipments by airfreight from Lufthansa-Cargo via Beijing and Frankfurt to Leipzig. In the coming weeks, the masks will help to protect the employees of the University of Leipzig Medical Center in particularly endangered areas from infection with the COVID-19 virus and thus help to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Currently, protective masks are difficult to obtain due to the sharp increase in demand. The fact that delivery was nevertheless possible is due to a scientific cooperation linking Leipzig with Shanghai: The Leipzig atmospheric chemist Professor Hartmut Herrmann from TROPOS teaches at the University of Leipzig and at Fudan University in Shanghai. The focus is on the effects of particulate matter on air quality, health and climate. "Our colleague in Shanghai, Professor Jianmin Chen, is cooperating with the mask manufacturer on measurements. We therefore visited the company together some time ago, which has helped us a lot now: The CEO of the company, Mr. Wen-Jun Zhang, has been very supportive of our initiative. Due to the personal relations he processed our order without waiting time and without advance payment. Due to the worldwide demand, masks would otherwise have been difficult to obtain", explains Prof Hartmut Herrmann from the Leipzig University and TROPOS.
As a result, the University of Leipzig Medical Center (UKL) now receives 10,000 of the coveted N95 protective masks. The filters in these masks prevent the inhalation of particles larger than 0.6 micrometres and thus protect against the SARS-CoV-2 viruses in the breathing air of infected persons. The 10,000 protective masks were paid for by University of Leipzig Medical Center. The UKL received 10,000 single masks with this delivery as a donation from the staff of the TROPOS Department of Atmospheric Chemistry and Professor Herrmann himself, and another 10,000 as a donation from Professors Jianmin Chen (Fudan University), Xiang Li (Fudan University) and Xiaomin Sun (Shandong University) as well as the parents of two Chinese postdocs in Leipzig. "A big thank you also goes to our administration, which has taken care of the difficult customs formalities," adds Herrmann. In order to enable the delivery to be processed quickly, TROPOS has assumed the transport costs.
Contacts:
Helena Reinhardt
Head of Corporate Communications
University of Leipzig Medical Center (Universitätsklinikum Leipzig)
Phone +49 341 97-15905
https://www.uniklinikum-leipzig.de
and
Professor Hartmut Herrmann
Head of the Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) & Leipzig University
Tel. +49 341 2717-7024
https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/about-us/employees/hartmut-herrmann
and
Professor Jianmin Chen,
Department of Environment Science and Engineering at Fudan University, Shanghai, China
http://environment.fudan.edu.cn/en/Show.aspx?info_lb=264&flag=225&info_id=322
or
Tilo Arnhold
TROPOS Public releations
Tel. +49-341-2717-7189
http://www.tropos.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/
Links:
University of Leipzig Medical Center (Universitätsklinikum Leipzig)
https://www.uniklinikum-leipzig.de/
Firma Shadong Aida Medical Products in Weifang
https://www.aidamasks.com/
Atmospheric Chemistry Department at TROPOS
https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/departments/atmospheric-chemistry
The Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is member of the Leibniz Association, which connects 96 independent research institutions that range in focus from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences via economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. They conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide research-based services.
The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer to policy-makers, academia, business and the public. Leibniz institutions collaborate intensively with universities – in the form of “Leibniz ScienceCampi” (thematic partnerships between university and non-university research institutes), for example – as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad.
They are subject to an independent evaluation procedure that is unparalleled in its transparency. Due to the importance of the institutions for the country as a whole, they are funded jointly by the Federation and the Länder, employing some 20,000 individuals, including 10,000 researchers.
The entire budget of all the institutes is approximately 1.9 billion Euros. They are financed jointly by the Federal Government and the Länder. The basic funding of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is therefore financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Saxon State Ministry of Science and the Arts (SMWK). The Institute is co-financed with tax revenues on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.
https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/home/
https://www.bmbf.de/en/index.html
https://www.smwk.sachsen.de/
