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Countries promise aid and supplies for the covid-19 crisis in India

2021-04-28T09:27:03.691Z


As India breaks daily records for COVID-19 deaths, countries and businesses respond to the call for help.


Record rise in covid-19 depletes oxygen in India 3:46

(CNN) -

As India battles a devastating second wave of covid-19 that is killing thousands of people every day, international efforts to help cope with the crisis are accelerating, with both Britain and the United States pledging aid and much needed medical supplies.

The second wave, which began in March, has escalated rapidly, registering more than a million new cases in just three days.

For the past two weeks, medical centers have been left without oxygen and ICU beds, and patients have been left outside hospitals waiting to be seen.

On Monday, India recorded 352,991 new cases and 2,812 virus-related deaths, marking the highest number of daily cases in the world for the fifth day in a row.

US to send aid to India to deal with devastating covid-19 outbreak

The situation is especially dire in the capital, New Delhi, which is in a state of confinement until May 3.

The city is facing a serious oxygen shortage.

Delhi does not produce its own oxygen and relies on resources supplied by the central government, according to Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Several Delhi hospitals tweeted SOS messages over the weekend requesting oxygen supplies.

On Saturday, at least 20 critically ill patients died after oxygen supplies were delayed at a Delhi hospital.

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This Sunday, in a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his administration will create 551 oxygen generation plants "in all districts to ensure adequate oxygen availability."

Record rise in covid-19 depletes oxygen in India 3:46

The central government has come under heavy criticism within the country for its handling of the outbreak, as hospitals and residents, overwhelmed, have posted on social media pleas for state and federal officials to provide more supplies.

Many have turned to the black market in a desperate attempt to save their loved ones.

The relative of a person who died of COVID-19 at a cremation in Jammu, India, on April 25, 2021.

Modi first addressed the nation about the crisis last week, having held political rallies and downplayed the urgency of the second wave in previous weeks.

During his monthly radio show on Sunday, Modi said he had held meetings with experts from the pharmaceutical industry, vaccine manufacturers and oxygen producers on how to tackle the second wave.

“I am writing to you at a time when Covid-19 is testing our patience and ability to bear pain.

Many of our loved ones have left us unexpectedly, "he said on the radio show.

“After successfully tackling the first wave, the nation's morale was high, it was confident.

But this storm has shaken the nation.

Global aid for India due to the covid-19 crisis

With the heartbreaking images of India and the death toll rising in global headlines, countries around the world have mobilized to offer urgent help.

The Biden government and the US Department of Defense will deploy supplies and support to India, including the shipment of ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE), rapid diagnostic test kits and drugs, according to the White House and senior officials. officials.

Drone captures mass cremations in India 2:03

"The United States is also looking for options to generate oxygen and related supplies on an urgent basis," according to a reading of a call between the national security advisers of both countries.

Earlier this year, the United States temporarily banned the export of critical raw materials for vaccine production.

This controversial decision meant that vaccine manufacturers around the world, including the Serum Institute of India (SII), were faced with a shortage of materials to make COVID-19 vaccines and were forced to look elsewhere. places.

Notices about the shortage of covid-19 vaccines on the door of a vaccination center in Mumbai, India, on April 20.

The ban has come under increasing criticism, with some calling it a resource grab as the second wave accelerates in India, especially given the improving situation in the United States and its effective vaccination program.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of SII, made a direct appeal to US President Joe Biden on April 16, when the national crisis worsened.

“If we really want to unite to defeat this virus, on behalf of the vaccine industry outside the US, I humbly ask that you lift the embargo on exports of raw materials outside the US so that it can increase vaccine production, ”Poonawalla tweeted.

On Sunday, the White House announced that it would partially lift the ban and identify "the specific raw material that is urgently needed for the manufacture of Covishield vaccine in India and will be made immediately available to this country."

However, the ad made no mention of spreading the doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, of which the United States has tens of millions in storage.

The doses, which have not been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration, have not been used, except for a few million injections shipped to Canada and Mexico.

This Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that shipping leftover vaccines to India was "on the table", although he did not offer any timetable or plan for such a move.

  • Anthony Fauci: "The important thing is to protect all people as soon as possible, no matter what vaccine"

He also warned that although the United States appears to be on the road to recovery, with daily cases remaining stable and vaccination on the rise, the virus is a global problem.

"That is why we and other rich countries have to exercise what I think is a moral responsibility to help the rest of the world get this under control," Fauci said.

“In a year we will really be in better shape than we are now, but there will be other countries that will not be.

The faster we can protect the rest of the world, the more secure our protection will be. '

The UK is also sending 600 medical teams to India, including oxygen concentrators and respirators, the government announced on Sunday.

The aid responds to a direct request from Modi to the UK.

  • Indian double mutation variant of covid-19 is now in the UK

The first shipment is expected to arrive in Delhi on Tuesday.

People wait to refill medical oxygen cylinders at an oxygen refilling station in Allahabad, India, on April 24.

India will also import 23 mobile generation plants and containers from Germany, which will be airlifted and arrive in the country in a week.

The supplies will go to military hospitals that care for COVID-19 patients, the Indian Defense Ministry reported last Friday.

Pakistan, which has a history of tensions with India, also offered its support.

Neighboring Pakistan announced that it would provide "relief support" in a "gesture of solidarity," according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Four killed in car bomb attack in Pakistan in front of the hotel where the Chinese ambassador was reportedly staying

The two nuclear-armed states have a long and hostile history, and tensions have risen sharply in the past year.

Pakistan offers to send ventilators, PPE and other types of medical assistance.

"I want to express our solidarity with the people of India in their fight against a dangerous wave of covid-19," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a statement released on Saturday.

"Our prayers for a speedy recovery go out to all those suffering from the pandemic," Khan said.

"We must fight together against this global challenge facing humanity."

Tech giants Microsoft and Google also offered their support to India, including financing medical supplies such as oxygen concentrating devices.

India Deaths from covid-19 Oxygen

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-04-28

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