International efforts are underway to help India as the country experiences critical oxygen shortages amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. Reports indicate that countries including the United Kingdom begun sending ventilators and Oxygen concentrator devices. The first consignment of aid left the UK on Sunday and is due to arrive in India on Tuesday. Further shipments will take place later in the week, officials confirmed. The aid includes 495 oxygen concentrators, which can extract oxygen from the air when hospital oxygen systems have run out, as well as 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators. We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against Covid-19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. Accordingly, the US announced plans to lift a ban on sending raw materials abroad, enabling India to make more of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need, President Joe Biden said on Twitter. Meanwhile, neighbouring Bangladesh has announced that it will close its border with India from Monday to prevent the spread of the virus. On Saturday, India reported 349,691 Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning and another 2,767 deaths, The country’s capital Delhi has extended its lockdown as overcrowded hospitals continue to turn patients away. The government has also approved plans for more than 500 oxygen generation plants across the country to boost supplies. According to the BBC, the European Commission said it planned to send oxygen and medicine too. Its head Ursula von der Leyen said the organisation was pooling resources to respond rapidly to Indias request for assistance. In Delhi, a region of about 20 million people, hospitals are full and are turning away new patients. At least two hospitals have seen patients die after oxygen supplies ran out. Similar scenes are playing out in other major cities. In total India has confirmed nearly 17 million infections and 192,000 deaths. Some states and territories have imposed lockdowns and other restrictions.
