Senior officials from Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health and Harare City Council participate in the China-Africa Video Conference on COVID-19 in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

 Two Chinese companies on Tuesday handed over some medical supplies to a Zimbabwean foundation initiated by Zimbabwe's First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

Huawei and Sichuan PD Times donated 50,000 medical surgical masks, 510 protective suits and 1,000 pairs of medical goggles to Angel of Hope Foundation. These medical supplies will be distributed to medical workers on the frontline against COVID-19 in Zimbabwe.

At the handover ceremony, Mnangagwa recalled China's support to Zimbabwe dating back to 1960s when Zimbabweans were struggling for independence, saying, "Thank you for remembering us and helping us in this needy time for our country facing the COVID-19 pandemic."

"You are our all-weather friend," Mnangagwa said.

She also thanked Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun for sharing information about the pandemic and educating Zimbabwean people on how to protect themselves from being infected in a TV show.

The donated supplies were brought to Harare from Beijing by a charter plane of Air Zimbabwe on Monday.

So far, the number of COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe has risen to 28 after three more cases were recorded on Tuesday, including three deaths and two recoveries.