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First US COVID-19 emergency aid supplies arrive in India

First US COVID-19 emergency aid supplies arrive in India

Migrant workers crowd outside a train station to travel back to their home states after rumours of a lockdown were circulated on social media, in Hyderabad, India, on Apr 29, 2021. (Photo: AP/Mahesh Kumar A)

NEW DELHI: The first US emergency aid to India arrived on Friday (Apr 30) as the country battles a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases which has overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

A Super Galaxy military transporter carrying more than 400 oxygen cylinders and other hospital equipment and nearly 1 million rapid coronavirus tests landed at New Delhi's international airport as the Indian capital battles a major pandemic crisis.

India is currently recording a world record infection rate of more than 370,000 cases as well as 3,600 deaths a day and a huge international aid operation has been launched with countries around the world promising help.

The delivery, which flew in from the Travis military base in California, followed talks this week between US President Joe Biden and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The United States is delivering supplies worth more than US$100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India," State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday.

US officials said the special flights, which will also bring equipment donated by companies and individuals, will continue into next week.

READ: India's COVID-19 oxygen crisis: Why is there a deadly crunch?

READ: Indians turn to black market, unproven drugs as COVID-19 surges

Japan became the latest to offer help, announcing Friday it would despatch 300 oxygen concentrators and 300 ventilators to India.

"Japan stands with India, our friend and partner, in her efforts to fight (the) COVID-19 pandemic through this additional emergency assistance," the foreign ministry said.

More than 40 countries have committed to sending vital medical aid, particularly oxygen supplies, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters on Thursday.

The supplies include almost 550 oxygen-generating plants, more than 4,000 oxygen concentrators, 10,000 oxygen cylinders as well as 17 cryogenic tankers.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of COVID-19 shots as well as raw materials to produce vaccines and medicines were also being sent, he said.

"It is an unprecedented situation," Shringla said.

DOUSED WITH PETROL

India has seen around 18.5 million infections, including more than 6 million this month. More than 200,000 have died, although many experts suspect the real figure is much higher.

In many areas outside the main hotspots of New Delhi and Maharashtra, hospitals are running out of beds as relatives of the sick desperately hunt for medicines and oxygen cylinders.

FILE PHOTO: Sumit Kumar, 28, sits on an oxygen cylinder as he waits outside a factory to get it refilled, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Delhi, India, April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

Many crematoriums are facing shortages of wood because of the surge in deaths, with each pyre requiring between 300kg and 400kg wood.

Some in the western city of Surat have started using wood that is not entirely dry and crop waste, pouring petrol on the pyre so that the wet wood burns properly.

Kamlesh Sailor, manager of the Kurukshetra Crematorium in Surat said they were setting up four new wooden pyre stands.

"This will be in addition to the existing eight wooden pyre stands and five gas furnaces that are in use round the clock," Sailor said.

READ: Indians rush for vaccines as relentless new wave sends COVID-19 death toll past 200,000

READ: SOS messages, panic as COVID-19 breaks India's health system

FALTERING VACCINATIONS

The Indian government will open vaccinations to all adults from Saturday, meaning around 600 million more people will be eligible.

Several states have warned, however, they do not have sufficient stocks and the expanded roll-out is threatened by administrative bickering, confusion over prices and technical glitches on the government's digital vaccine platform.

Financial hub Mumbai, one of the major cities reeling from the new wave, said late on Thursday that it would halt inoculations from Friday to Sunday "owing to non-availability of vaccine stock".

Until now, only frontline workers like medical staff, people over 45 and those with existing illnesses have been given the AstraZeneca shot or Bharat Biotech's homegrown Covaxin.

But even this more modest programme has faltered.

So far around 150 million shots have been administered, equating to 11.5 per cent of the population of 1.3 billion people. Just 25 million have had two shots.

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Source: AFP

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