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Italy sends oxygen generation plant for ITBP hospital, team of medical specialists
The specialists who arrived on the flight include a team from the Maxiemergenza 118 emergency service of Piedmont region, a doctor from Lombardy region and a representative of the Italian health ministry
A special flight from Italy brought in an oxygen generation plant and a team of specialists on Monday to support India’s response to a massive surge in Coronavirus infections that has stretched the resources of healthcare facilities in many cities.
The oxygen production plant, capable of supplying an entire hospital, will be deployed at the ITBP hospital in Greater Noida, the Italian embassy said in a statement. The Italian support package also includes 20 ventilators.
The specialists who arrived on the flight include a team from the Maxiemergenza 118 emergency service of Piedmont region, a doctor from Lombardy region and a representative of the Italian health ministry.
Italian ambassador Vincenzo De Luca and European Union (EU) Ambassador Ugo Astuto greeted the medical delegation at the New Delhi airport. De Luca said, “Italy stands with India in the fight against Coronavirus. This is a global challenge that we must tackle together. The medical team and equipment provided by Italy will contribute to saving lives in these terrible moments.”
The Italian support package is part of the EU’s coordinated response to the Covid-19 situation in India. Italy is the third country, after France and Germany, to include an oxygen generation plant in its support package.
A severe shortage of oxygen has been listed by experts as one of the biggest constraints in providing specialised care to Covid-19 patients in New Delhi and other cities. Twelve patients, including a senior doctor, died at the intensive care unit of Delhi’s Batra Hospital due to an 80-minute disruption in oxygen supply on Saturday.
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The Italian support mission was coordinated by the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which was recently activated to respond to the crisis in India. The oxygen production plant was made available by Italy’s Piedmont region and the ventilators were donated by the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency.
The materials and personnel were brought in by an Italian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft as part of the Italian defence ministry’s support for combating the pandemic.
So far, several EU member states have sent support packages to India. France airlifted eight large oxygen generating plants, each of which can make a hospital autonomous in oxygen supply for more than 10 years, and 28 ventilators, while Ireland donated more than 1,200 oxygen concentrators, one oxygen generator and more than 400 ventilators.
Finland has provided 318 oxygen cylinders, Austria has sent 5,521 vials of the antiviral medication Remdesivir, 238 oxygen cylinders and 1,900 oxygen cannulas, and Belgium has provided 9,000 doses of Remdesivir.
