Tackling Covid-19: Swift clearing of foreign aid strengthens tertiary medical care, says Centre

The Centre said that 9,284 oxygen concentrators, 7,033 oxygen cylinders, 19 oxygen generation plants and 5,933 ventilators have been delivered to states till now.

The central government said on Wednesday that in the spirit of goodwill, the global community has been helping India to address the challenges of Covid management. A number of countries have sent aid of Covid-19 relief medical supplies and equipment since April 27, it said in a release.

78,595 vials of Remdesivir from the US landed at Mumbai Airport on Tuesday night. The vials are being distributed to various states.

On Tuesday, India received major items from the UK, Egypt, Kuwait and South Korea. These include oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders and ventilators.

The Centre also said that its ministries and departments are involved in delivering the received materials to various states and union territories (UTs) to increase their capacity. Till now, 9,284 oxygen concentrators, 7,033 oxygen cylinders, 19 oxygen generation plants and 5,933 ventilators have been delivered to states and UTs through road and air, the government added.

The collaboration is being done under the 'Whole of Government' approach, the Centre further said.

The Union health ministry has set up a dedicated cell for regular comprehensive monitoring of the entire process.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) plane carrying 200 oxygen concentrators arrived from the United Kingdom in Chhattisgarh's Raipur on Tuesday night. Similarly, medical aid from Netherlands and Switzerland arrived at Delhi airport on Wednesday.

The member states of the European Union are also delivering medical aid to India. The aid is being provided through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which is coordinated by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Commission.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that "foreign friendships matter, every life counts and every gesture makes a difference."

He posted several videos on micro-blogging site Twitter, where the people can be seen praising the efforts made by foreign countries including the UK, Russia, and the US.

A total of 3,48,421 new Covid-19 cases and 3,55,338 discharges were reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the country's total positive cases so far to 2,33,40,938, the Union health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

There are currently 37,04,099 active cases in the country.