A batch of 50,000 face masks, part of at least 150,000 masks being donated by Brunei, arrived on Wednesday in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to help it prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus.

The first shipment arrived at the Nanning Wuxu International Airport in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi, and will be transported to the cities of Yulin and Hechi in the autonomous region.

Sources with the Brunei prime minister's office said the country has been continuously paying attention to the development of the disease in China.

Demand for masks in China has dramatically surged as the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus rose to 24,324 on the Chinese mainland as of Feb 4, including 490 deaths.

A batch of 50,000 face masks donated by Brunei to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region arrived on Wednesday at the Nanning Wuxu International Airport in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi.