New Delhi: A shipment carrying 53 ventilators from Denmark landed here in India on Friday to support the country’s fight against COVID-19.
“Taking forward our ties that is based on historical links and shared democratic values. Thank our friend Denmark for the shipment of 53 ventilators,” the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
India is currently dealing with a devastating second COVID-19 wave that has swept through the nation, straining the country’s health infrastructure and overburdening frontline medical workers.
Earlier in the day, a shipment containing 449 ventilators, 100 oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies from the Netherlands arrived in India.
Several countries around the globe including UK, Russia, and the US have extended support as India continues to struggle with the increase in its health infrastructure needs caused by the rising COVID-19 infections.
The member states of the EU are delivering medical aid following India’s request for support as the country has witnessed a record surge in COVID-19 cases in the second wave of the pandemic.
The aid is being provided through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which is coordinated by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Commission.
Several countries like Romania, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium have already sent in the supplies.
The European Commission on Wednesday announced that it will allocate an initial 2.2 million euros in emergency funding to respond to the surge of COVID-19 cases in India.
According to a statement by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the funding will support the World Health Organization (WHO) for 6-month case management of COVID-19 patients, as well as strengthening laboratory capacity for COVID-19 testing.