Authorities from Hubei Province, China's former epicenter of COVID-19, said that processed mutton from thousands of sheep donated by Mongolia will be dispatched to the region's frontline medical workers and families whose members died in the line of duty.

A ceremony was held Friday at the Yangluo Port in Hubei's capital of Wuhan, which was hardest hit by the coronavirus earlier this year, to acknowledge Mongolia's gift.

Provincial commerce authorities said the cold-chain delivery will also reach thousands of medical aid workers from across the country.

In February, Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga visited China when the country was still hard hit by the coronavirus. Battulga announced a donation of 30,000 sheep as a token of support for the people of Hubei Province.

Ten container trucks, loaded with the first batch of processed mutton, arrived in Wuhan on November 14. The first batch of sheep from Mongolia began arriving October 22. The entire flock was delivered by November 13.

The herd was subjected to quarantine and inspection for about 45 days before entering the border city of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Trucks left Wuhan November 9 for Erenhot, where the first batch of almost 12,000 sheep were slaughtered and processed. Another six trucks set out last week to bring back the second batch.