ANKARA 

Turkey will dispatch medical supplies to Palestine to help its combat with the novel coronavirus outbreak, the presidential spokesman said on Thursday.

"By the instruction of President Erdogan, medical supplies including masks, overalls and test kits will be sent to Palestine [on Thursday night] for distribution in the West Bank and Gaza," Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.

He further expressed solidarity with Palestine, saying Turkey will continue to stand by the Palestinian people.

"Keep humanity alive so that people can live," Kalin added.

Turkey earlier Thursday sent the second batch of medical supplies to the US, one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus.

Turkey has helped 57 countries, including the UK, Spain, Italy, Britain, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Libya and Somalia, with aims to combat the pandemic.

Since first appearing China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, with the US and Europe the hardest-hit areas.

More than 3.2 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll surpassing 227,800 and more than 982,800 recoveries, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.