The United States has pledged COVID-19 aid to the tune of over $100 mln to India in the coming days, the White House announced on its website on Wednesday. India has been suffering from the Pandemic due to the gross apathy and subsequent mismanagement by the Modi Government.
“Reflecting the United States’ solidarity with India as it battles a new wave of COVID-19 cases, the United States is delivering supplies worth more than $100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India. In addition, U.S. state governments, private companies, non-government organizations, and thousands of Americans from across the country have mobilized to deliver vital oxygen, related equipment, and essential supplies for Indian hospitals to support frontline health care workers and the people of India most affected during the current outbreak. U.S. Government assistance flights will start arriving in India on Thursday, April 29 and will continue into next week,” according to the statement. The assistance includes, in particular, oxygen support, therapeutics, rapid diagnostic tests, personal protective equipment.
As per the website, the U.S. has re-directed its own order of AstraZeneca manufacturing supplies to India. This will allow India to make over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Also, the U.S. will deliver the first tranche of a planned 20,000 treatment courses of the antiviral drug Remdesivir to help treat hospitalized patients.
Russian aid arrives
On Wednesday, an Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, carrying a cargo of medical equipment intended to help India fight the coronavirus, arrived in New Delhi. Kremlin has already announced that more than 22 tonnes of cargo will be delivered to India on two flights. The Russian Emergencies Ministry known as EMERCOM said it includes 20 pieces of equipment for the production of oxygen, 75 ventilators, 150 medical monitors and 200,000 packages of drugs for the treatment of coronavirus infection.
Flight bans
Many countries including Germany, Iran and Canada have temporarily stopped flights from India after a new variant of the coronavirus with triple mutation, the variant B.1.618, was discovered in the West Bengal state where the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his no two Amit Shah who is also the Home Minister, his party the BJP and the opposition parties held massive poll rallies. Indian scientists believe that the new variant transmits faster than any previously known ones and infects old and young alike.