India on Friday received its first emergency coronavirus supplies from the United states, a huge international aid, to battle its devastating surge in the pandemic.
A United States military plane, carrying medical supplies of over 400 oxygen cylinders, 10 lakh rapid coronavirus test kits, and other equipment landed at Delhi International airport today morning.
The US Embassy, in a tweet, shared pictures of the supplies. The first of several emergency Covid-19 relief shipments from the United States has arrived in India! Building on over 70 years of cooperation, the United States stands with India as we fight the Covid-19 pandemic together. #USIndiaDosti (sic), wrote the US Embassy.
Following the talks between US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the delivery flew from the Travis military base in California as the country fights a deadly second wave that has strained the healthcare system. With more than 3 lakh daily cases, SOS messages for hospital beds and medical oxygen have flooded social media in India.
In view of the debilitating situation in India, the equipment donated by companies and individuals will continue to arrive in the country via special flights in the next week, said the US officials.
Earlier, Biden pledged sustained support to India in its fight against Covid. He tweeted, just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need.
The State Department spokesman Ned Price on Thursday informed about the Covid relief supplies saying, delivering supplies worth more than $100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India.
Meanwhile, India has recorded 386,452, fresh coronavirus cases, while deaths from Covid-19 climbed by 3,498 over the last 24 hours, according to health ministry data. Since the end of February, India has added about 7.7 million cases to its total caseload when its second wave picked up steam, according to a Reuters news agency tally.
After the US that recorded 3.22 crore infection, India has logged the second highest number of Covid cases with 1.83 crore total cases. As many as 5.7 lakh people have died in the US since the start of the pandemic, while 2.04 lakh deaths have been recorded in India.