Centre dispatches over 11,000 oxygen concentrators, nearly 16,000 cylinders received as global aid to states/UTs

New Delhi: As India continues its battle against COVID-19, the Central government has dispatched 11,325 oxygen concentrators, 15,801 oxygen cylinders, 19 oxygen generation plants, 8,526 ventilators/Bi-PAP, and about 6.1 lakhs Remdesivir vials to various states and union territories (UTs) which were received as foreign aid.

According to a press release, these supplies were dispatched between April 27 and May 17 this year. The Union Health Ministry is comprehensively monitoring the allocation on a regular basis.

“Effective immediate allocation, and streamlined delivery to the recipient states/UTs and institutions is an ongoing exercise. A dedicated Coordination Cell has been created in the Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign COVID relief material as international cooperation in the form of grants, aid and donations,” the statement further added.

This Cell started functioning from April 26 and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been framed and implemented by the Ministry since May 2.

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.