The first shipment of Covid medical supplies from Britain to India, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived early Tuesday, the foreign ministry said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi tweeted photos of the equipment being unloaded from a German Lufthansa aircraft in New Delhi, calling it “international cooperation at work”.
Britain, one of several countries to announce sending help as India’s health care system buckles under a huge surge in coronavirus cases, is sending more than 600 pieces of vital medical equipment.
Dr Zarir Udwadia – a doctor in Mumbai and an adviser to the Indian Government – said the country was “beyond crisis point”, as he warned India was almost two years from herd immunity due to its “glacially slow” vaccine rollout.
India’s coronavirus death toll neared the bleak milestone of 200,000 with another 2,771 fatalities reported on Tuesday, while its armed forces pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.
