Christian charity Samaritan's Purse has announced that it is donating some £194,000-worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to workers from religious charities who are working on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus. 

The international humanitarian relief organisation has gifted the vital PPE kits alongside grants of £1,000, £3,000 and £5,000 to churches, charities and other organisations who involved in helping those affected by COVID-19. The kids include 100 FFP1 disposable face masks, 50 FFP2 disposable face masks, 100 pairs of disposable latex gloves, 100 pairs of disposable nitrile glove and two litres of hand sanitiser.

Darren Tosh, UK executive director of Samaritan's Purse said: "Our experience in disaster areas around the world has taught us that during times of crisis like this, meaningful partnerships can be forged between churches and their communities.

"We want to stand in the gap for churches and organisations to help reach, and care for, as many people as possible who are suffering from the direct and indirect effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The Church has an opportunity to boldly show compassion to their communities, and as many church workers are considered to be essential in working with the most vulnerable amongst us, they need protective equipment and funding to carry on their work."

Samaritan's Purse - which is headed up by evangelist Franklin Graham - has become a visible presence in the fight against coronavirus. Earlier this month, the group erected a temporary field hospital in New York's Central Park in a bid to help the city cope with its spiraling infection rate.

Currently, the state of New York has recorded just under 300,000 cases of the disease, which is almost double the amount in the UK. 
There are now over 3 million confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus across the globe.