Underground Christian churches in the city of Wuhan delivered vital medical aid to the city’s residents in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to William Huang, a China and East Asia researcher, churches often delivered masks and protective gear in the early days of the outbreak, whilst the rest of China recoiled in horror as the government-sponsored Wuhan Red Cross failed to distribute much needed resources to the frontlines, leaving many medical staff exposed and frustrated.

Writing for Mercatornet, he said as medical masks lay idle in a Red Cross warehouse or get siphoned off by Wuhan local officials, one pastor and his team managed to deliver 400 N95 masks, 1000 gloves and 1000 protective goggles to the Wuhan Central Hospital, the workplace of the deceased whistleblower Dr Li Wenliang.

“Most of those donations were sent directly by overseas believers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and North America. An additional 30,000 face masks were handed out on the street by the members of Luo’s team in the first week of the quarantine,” he wrote.