The United States announced on Wednesday April 29 the emergency dispatch of more than $ 100 million of equipment to fight Covid-19 to India, where the pandemic is wreaking havoc.
Among those airborne supplies are nearly a million rapid drug tests, which can detect a Covid-19 infection within 15 minutes.
The first military plane carrying these materials will arrive in New Delhi on Thursday, the White House said.
This shipment will also include 100,000 N95 protective masks, intended for essential workers on the front line of the pandemic.
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India is seeing its health system crumble under the flood of patients, who face a lack of hospital beds, oxygen reserves and life-saving medicines. Other flights planned by Washington will follow, which will precisely bring oxygen therapy equipment and supplies to produce more than 20 million doses of vaccine. The explosion of cases in India is attributed in particular to a new variant and to large-scale political and religious gatherings. The coronavirus death toll there exceeded 200,000 there on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 deaths reported in 24 hours for the first time, according to official data.
