High demand means Windsor can't provide Chinese twin city with medical supplies amid coronavirus outbreak

Mayor Drew Dilken says Windsor's only Chinese twin city won't receive the medical equipment it requested, because there simply isn't enough supply available due to the ongoing global coronavirus outbreak.

Changchun one of Windsor's 12 twin cities filed its request for protective masks, medical goggles and disposable medical outfits on Sunday, which was forwarded to the mayor's office Tuesday morning.

Dilkens said his office reached out to multiple supply companies in Windsor with the request, but high demand and low supply mean the Rose City will be unable to help its Chinese twin city.

"There's basically a run on all of this type of equipment, and you can understand that people are concerned and ordering it wherever they are in the world," Dilkens said. "The manufacturers are just having a very difficult time keeping up."

Dilkens added that members of Windsor's own Chinese community reached out to his office to offer help.Despite enthusiasm and a desire to provide support, the lack of supply nonetheless scuttled Windsor's attempts to provide aid to Changchun.

"There's just too much of a demand and there's no supply out there," he said.

According to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO),there are more than 24,500 confirmed coronavirus cases globally, with approximately 24,300 confirmed cases in Wuhan, China the city believed to be the cause of the current global outbreak.

The WHO has reportedthat 25 countries have confirmed coronavirus cases.

Approximately 490people have died as a result of the virus in China.

Figures published by Health Canada show three confirmed coronavirus cases in Ontario, with one confirmed case in British Columbia and two presumptive cases also in British Columbia.

Ontario health officials confirmed last week that one of the province's confirmed cases is in London.

Dilkens said Windsor's hospitals have enough medical supplies, adding that any additional resources will be supplied by the province.

"They know at the hospital-level what resources they have in their inventories and they're able to move those resources around very, very quickly throughout the provincial hospital system," he said.