As the coronavirus explodes，more people have begun wearing face masks to protect themselves，leading to not only a China-wide，but also a global shortage of the product. Across the world，even frontline medical staff are clamouring for face masks and other personal protective equipment.

During such unprecedented times，a different kind of “health”- the health of Alstom’s global community bonds-has thankfully stood the test of time，as our teams collectively respond to the shortage of N95-type masks worldwide.

During the extended Chinese New Year holidays，Alstom teams in over 20 countries across six continents stepped up to secure over 95，000 masks for colleagues in China offices and industrial sites. These efforts ranged from sourcing manufacturers and suppliers，coordinating the supply chain and logistics to even tapping onto the sites’ spare supply. With Alstom’s operations in China resuming on 10 February in line with heightened precautionary measures，the first batch of masks successfully reached the sites on 12 February. All this took only 10 days after the onset of activation amid the outbreak！

During this period，Alstom also made a commitment to support our partners in China. Thus，around 12000 masks were dispatched to frontline rail workers in Beijing，Chengdu，Nanjing，Shanghai and Xi’an. At the same time，Alstom Foundation donated €15000（approximately RMB120000）to Hubei Charity Federation in order to help to stop the epidemy.

Two months on，even as China，the world’s main supplier，comes back onstream，companies around the globe are battling a host of obstacles，from control borders disrupting supply chain to a supply squeeze on masks. Little did we know，Alstom team in China would now be mobilising local mask manufacturers，traders and forwarders，to supply some 1.5 million masks to our other major sites worldwide. These masks would not only go to Alstom employees and families，but also in priority to medical services，frontline transport workers and manufacturing suppliers in coronavirus-hit countries where possible.

Ling Fang，Senior Vice President for Alstom in Asia Pacific，says：“The immense support coming from Alstom teams all over the world shows our One Alstom team spirit. Thanks to timely joint efforts of our colleagues worldwide，masks and funds were available to our employees and stakeholders from and beyond China within a very short span of time. The health of our Alstom community is an essential weapon in the fight against this and any future viruses-how much we care for our fellow colleagues and local communities. We will spare no effort in keeping our environment safe for all employees and our communities，and standing together in the global fight against this public health crisis.”