The Czech Ministry of the Interior paid 708 million CZK to the Chinese company Eastern Air Logistics for 49 flights transporting protective equipment during the state of emergency.

Facing an acute shortage of protective gear for medical staff in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the government reached a deal to buy masks and other equipment from China, where the virus first emerged.

The data was provided by the Ministry of the Interior on the basis of the Act on Free Access to Information, Zdopravy.cz wrote today.

The total amount does not include the Ruslan cargo and the transport of material from China by Smartwings and CSA.

The Ministry of the Interior also paid for the last Antonov An-124 cargo plane with medical supplies from Shenzhen to Pardubice. The state paid 18.9 million CZK to Volga Dnepr.

Since March 20, aircraft have carried around 2,000 tons of respirators and other materials from China to the Czech Republic.

On May 4, the Czech Interior Minister and Central Crisis Staff head Jan Hamáček thanked all those who participated in the mission, especially the firefighters and police officers who helped unload and distribute the materials.