The Chinese Embassy in Díli has given the Timorese authorities an infrared camera, six hand-held thermometers and 3,000 facemasks to help them face the threat posed by the coronavirus epidemic, ANTIL reports.

The Timorese state-run news agency says the camera will be used at President Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili to check the temperatures of arriving passengers.

The Timorese Health Ministry requested the equipment and supplies, the report quotes an official of the Timorese Foreign Ministry, Jorge Camões, as saying.

The Chinese Embassy in Díli issued a written statement quoting Mr Camões as saying Timor-Leste wants to learn from the Chinese experience of countering the coronavirus epidemic.