Advertisement
Coronavirus: India must rely on international aid until oxygen crisis eases next month
- The severe medical oxygen shortage is expected to ease by the middle of next month as transport infrastructure adapts to surge in demand
- Meanwhile, all vaccination centres in India’s financial capital of Mumbai were shut for three days starting Friday due to a shortage of shots
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
7
India’s coronavirus disaster deepened on Thursday with the daily death toll climbing above 3,600 as dozens of countries sent urgent medical aid to help tackle the crisis.
India on Friday posted a record daily rise with 386,452 new cases and 3,498 deaths over the past 24 hours. On Thursday, India reported 3,645 deaths over the previous 24 hours and more than 379,000 new cases. The official numbers are widely believed to be far below the reality.
More than 40 countries have committed to sending India vital medical aid, particularly oxygen amid a severe shortage, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. The supplies include almost 550 oxygen-generating plants, more than 4,000 oxygen concentrators, 10,000 oxygen cylinders as well as 17 cryogenic tankers.
Advertisement
The first US emergency aid arrived on Friday. 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.
Advertisement
“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 on Thursday.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x