In January, a group of Chinese-Canadians gathered in Halifax to figure out how they could help friends and families dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Michael Ruan of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Nova Scotia said his group and the Chinese Society of Nova Scotia worked together to buy and donate thousands of masks, safety goggles and other medical supplies.

"Half of them we had sent to Wuhan at the end of February. But we still had half," Ruan said Wednesday.

When the virus hit Nova Scotia in March, their effort to help those abroad turned into an effort to help those at home in Halifax.

"Fighting with COVID-19 is like playing a [soccer] game. Chinese-Canadians are playing the whole game: the first half is for China, for Wuhan, the second half for Canada, for Halifax," he said.

Where the gear is going

They donated about 3,000 face masks to New Vision Special Care Homes, which operates nine long-term care homes in the Annapolis Valley.

Michael Walsh, the president of New Vision, said they'd been struggling to get personal protective equipment. The donations meant staff and residents could stay safer, he said.

The groups recently donated 2,000 face masks to Halifax Regional Police.

Spokesperson Const. John MacLeod said they were grateful. "These are exceptional times and these supplies contribute to doing our work safely as we deal with the current challenges," he said.

As of Thursday, the province said there were 373 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Nova Scotia.

Wilber Huang of the Chinese Society of Nova Scotia said they are meeting with Canada Post next to see if they can help postal workers.

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"I believe if all Canadians work together, we will succeed and get our lives back to normal in the near future," he said.

They've also given masks to elderly or sick members of the Chinese-Canadian community in Nova Scotia. They said as the situation improves in China, the people they helped in January are now eager to return the favour.

"A lot of friends and community members from China, they know the situation is getting worse over here. They care about us a lot and donate a lot," Huang said.

"We believe together we stand. We can collaborate with each other and we will get life back to normal, and even better."