COVID Second Wave: More Than 40 Countries Commit To Help India

Photo courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: More than 40 countries are set to provide assistance to India to bolster its fight against an ‘unprecedented’ second wave of coronavirus infections.

According to Union Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla, the aid will mostly be in the form of oxygen-related equipment and critical medicines.

Major global powers like the US, Russia, France, UK and Germany are among nations to have assured Indian government that they will be sending urgently-needed items. Indian and foreign corporations are helping with procurements, while Indian community associations in several countries are also doing their bit to provide relief materials.

“We are facing an unprecedented second wave of the pandemic. As of now, we have over 3 million active cases. This has obviously put considerable pressure on our healthcare system, on the capacities and resources that we have,” Shringla said.

He informed that more than 500 oxygen generating plants, 4,000 oxygen concentrators, 10,000 oxygen cylinders and 17 cryogenic oxygen tankers are expected in the next few days.

Gilead Sciences has offered 450,000 doses of Remdesivir, reported Hindustan Times, while 300,000 doses of Favipiravir from Russia and the UAE, and Tocilizumab consignments from Germany and Switzerland are also expected soon.

Two Russian military transport aircraft have flown in 20 oxygen production plants, ventilators and 200,000 medicine packs, while three special flights from the US were expected to bring in raw materials for Covid-19 vaccines, oxygen generating equipment and oxygen concentrators.