U.S. sends thousands of coronavirus face masks to Thailand despite no cases for two months

The U.S. government has sent thousands of Covid-19 face masks to rural Thailand - despite the country not having any cases for two months.

The representative of the US embassy delivered the Covid-10 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) worth 14,500 USD to the Thai authorities in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand on Monday morning (July 20).

Regional consul general Sean O'Neil said the US government wanted to help provide the protection to the hill tribe people that live in the remote mountains.

He said: "We are honoured that the Thai authorities trust us to help provide this equipment.

"We believed that the PPE will be helpful for the poverty-stricken citizens during this pandemic and hope they will help them stay safe from the virus." Thailand - which began strict containment and lockdown measures at the start of the pandemic - has not recorded any local transmissions of the coronavirus for two months.

The only cases are from repatriated nationals of overseas residents.

All tourists have been banned from the country since March 22.

The baffling record - which some credit with the genetics of people in countries along the Mekong Delta including Vietnam and Laos - has impressed officials at the World Heath Organisation who have chosen the country to feature in a documentary on the pandemic alongside New Zealand.

In contrast, the U.S. has recorded 4.1million infections as of July 23, suffered 146,192 deaths and seen protests against lockdown restrictions and the use of masks.