A medical worker in a People's Liberation Army unit gives a thumbs-up upon her arrival at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Hubei province on Feb 2, 2020. [Photo by Chen Xiaodong/For China Daily]

The People's Liberation Army has begun to use transport units to help to distribute necessities to markets and shops in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and epicenter of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The PLA established a transport support team of 260 soliders and 130 trucks on Sunday, tasking it with assisting local logistic companies in Wuhan to transport daily necessities such as vegetables, according to a statement published by the military on Monday.

The team dispatched 50 trucks on Sunday to send more than 200 metric tons of materials to major supermarkets across the city, the statement read.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, there have been shortages in manpower and transport capacity in Wuhan's logistics businesses, forcing the city government to ask for help from the military.

After receiving orders from the Central Military Commission, the PLA Hubei Provincial Command cooperated with a number of military units stationed in Hubei such as the PLA Air Force's parachute and aviation units and the PLA Ground Force's training base, selecting troops and trucks from these units.

China Central Television on Monday quoted a duty manager in a Wuhan supermarket as saying the assistance from the military has mitigated the heavy burden on their transport capacity.

The manager, Xiong Zhuang, said he wished to thank soldiers for their help and that Wuhan people felt more assured as they saw troops coming there.

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