UK supplies Oxygen Factories to support India in Covid19 pandemic fight

Bhubaneswar: Supporting India in its battle against COVID-19, the UK will soon be delivering further vital oxygen equipments to the country.

Considering India’s current COVID-hit scenario, oxygen is one of the basic necessities of the country’s healthcare system.

Hence, it has been officially notified that three oxygen generation units will be sent from surplus stocks in Northern Ireland to support India by providing more oxygen to those suffering from COVID-19. Each oxygen unit is capable of producing 500 litres of oxygen per minute, enough for 50 people to use at a time.

Worth mentioning here, the UK had earlier sent 495 oxygen concentrators and 200 ventilators in batches from surplus stocks. The first batch had arrived in Delhi on April 27 and the second was scheduled for delivery today. Then all the equipment will be transferred to various Indian hospitals.

The support was sent in response to a request from India and a pledge from Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK to do all it can to help. The assistance package has been sourced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “We stand with our Indian friends in their fight against COVID-19. International collaboration is more essential than ever, and this additional UK support package will help meet India’s current needs, particularly for more oxygen.”

British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Nick Low said, “It’s wonderful to see the United Kingdom and India deepening their cooperation against COVID-19 for the benefit of all our people, no matter where they live.  The oxygen generation units the British Government is supplying will come from Northern Ireland.  I’m also touched that so many friends back home, most of whom have never been to India, have been in touch to say that they have made donations.  This is the friendship between our people, our cities and our regions.”

India has this week reported its highest numbers of new daily cases and deaths since the pandemic began and is facing severe shortages of oxygen.

DHSC have worked closely with the NHS, as well as suppliers and manufacturers in the UK to identify surplus life-saving equipment that can be sent to India.