UK Dispatches First Ventilators, Oxygen Concentrators To India: Report

Further shipments, paid for by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), are being organised over the course of this week, UK government said.

The first life-saving assistance package to help India meet the urgent need for ventilators and oxygen concentrators in its devastating second wave of the covid-19 pandemic has been dispatched by the UK and is due to arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday. Further shipments, paid for by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), are being organised over the course of this week and will include nine airline container loads of supplies, including 495 oxygen concentrators, 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators. The focus at the moment is on expediting a constant flow of the equipment required immediately on the ground in the most efficient way, UK government sources said. In the longer term, discussions are ongoing to coordinate the response across government departments, the High Commissions of both countries and Indian diaspora groups in Britain to address the needs and requirements in India, where hospitals continue to struggle with supply shortages as the country recorded over three lakh coronavirus cases for the fifth day on Monday. Over the weekend, the FCDO had announced that following discussions with the government of India, more than 600 pieces of vital medical equipment will be sent to India to support the country in its fight against COVID-19.