国内英语新闻:Shanghai donates 50,000 face masks to Osaka

TOKYO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Shanghai has donated 50,000 face masks to Osaka of Japan where a large number of new-flu infections is reported.

    The masks arrived at Osaka, Shanghai's "sister city" on Wednesday and will be distributed to local medial facilities in both Osaka city and Osaka prefecture. They are expected to ease the region's shortage of face masks due to the abrupt outbreak of A/H1N1 flu.

    Shanghai is the third Chinese city to donate masks to Japan. Earlier, northern city of Tianjin and the southern Guangdong Province also donated masks to their "sister" cities or prefectures in Japan, Kobe city and Hyogo Prefecture respectively.

    The number of new-flu infections in Japan came to 364 in 10 prefectures as of Wednesday afternoon, with Wakayama Prefecture joining other western Japan prefectures in reporting an outbreak.

    The newly confirmed infection in Wakayama city government is a male company employee in his late 20s. Earlier Wednesday, two children in central Japan's Shizuoka city also were confirmed infected with the flu.