Coronavirus: Santa Fe Springs company donates coveralls to hospitals in China responding to outbreak

Chu's Packaging Supplies in Santa Fe Springs on Tuesday was preparing its second shipment of safety coveralls ready to send to hospitals in China dealing with coronavirus.

"We care about people in China. So we have to help them for the disadvantaged," said owner Paul Chu.

"We had a quick pow-wow and we're like look -- we'll tell our customers they can have what they can take, but the rest we're going to set aside and donate back to China because they need it just as much as anyone else does," said Paul's son Ricky, who's also an owner.

The family-owned business mostly sells packaging and supplies, but a portion of the company is safety wear, including disposable coveralls that can help with protection.

"Ours aren't medical grade, and that's one of the higher requirements, but right now, since there's a huge shortage, a lot of hospitals are going to take whatever they can get. And if we can give them what they can use, it makes us feel good about it," said Ricky.

Ironically, their coveralls are made in China, but the outbreak has exports from their factories shut down, so they say most of production -- and life itself -- is at a standstill.

"We're watching this on the news, our friends send us videos everyday like you see the streets are just empty," Ricky said.

The first shipment went out last week with 10,000 coveralls. Their goal is to donate a total of 100,000.

"This coronavirus came too strong and also too quick, so we have to do something right away," said Paul.

The family did something similar years ago for disaster relief efforts in Taiwan. They say they just want to make a difference and help.

"This is like one of the things my parents really believe in - is donating back to people that need it," Ricky said.

The next batch of disposable coveralls will be shipped out by the end of the week.