Vancouver realtors donate over 61,000 masks to local hospitals

Two real estate agents with Royal Pacific Realty have donated tens of thousands of much-needed masks to local hospitals in Metro Vancouver.

The real estate brokerage says Sing Lim Yeo and his wife have personally donated 5,000 masks to St. Paul’s Hospital, and several hundred to Villa Cathay Care Home.

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Sing, a senior vice president of the brokerage, spearheaded the firm’s Realtors Care movement about two decades ago and wanted to contribute in any way to assist frontline workers.

And even larger quantities have been donated by another realtor, Allan Ge, even though he is currently not in the country.

Royal Pacific says Ge was able to leverage his overseas contacts and personally procure 56,000 masks. This mass donation will be provided to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which will distribute the masks to their network of hospitals, including St. Paul’s Hospital.

Between both realtors, they have donated over 61,000 masks to hospitals in the region.

“We are incredibly proud and humbled by the generosity of members of our Royal Pacific Realty family and hope that in some small way this helps make the fight against this pandemic easier for our front line heroes,” reads a Facebook post.

Royal Pacific Realty’s Sing Lim Yeo donating masks from Allan Ge to St. Paul’s Hospital. (Royal Pacific Realty)

Although the COVID-19 epidemic has only begun, hospitals in the region are already experiencing a severe shortage of personal protective equipment, including masks.

Health officials have issued callouts to the general public and the business community to donate and/or help secure supply chains to ensure hospital workers have the necessary protective equipment, especially in the days and weeks ahead when the number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus is expected to soar.

The provincial government partnered with the Digital Technology Supercluster and the Business Council of BC to create the COVID-19 Supply Hub, an online platform to coordinate, source, and expedite medical supplies and personal protective equipment for provincial health workers.