Amid a devastating Covid-19 wave in India, US State Department has dispatched the third set of emergency relief supplies to New Delhi. US Agency for International Development (USAID) mobilized masks, oxygen tanks, cylinders, and other medical supplies equating to 250,000 pounds of life-saving supplies. The shipment is carried by US Carrier National Airlines will make a technical stop at Munich before reaching New Delhi, Indira Gandhi International Airport on May 1 at 23:00 hours. Biden administration will be sending supplies worth more than $100 million in its efforts to mitigate the pandemic in India.
The last few days saw an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases in India, accounting for an average of 3000 plus deaths every day. Many nations, including the US, UK, Russia, UAE, and others, have started transporting immediate medical supplies, oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, etc. to India.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, National Airlines B747-400F aircraft have been constantly involved in carrying medical supplies, equipment, and vaccines to many nations across the globe. “We have been constantly involved in transporting medical relief supplies across the world since the beginning of the pandemic including vaccines. This latest mission to India is our unceasing obligation to support the battle against the global pandemic,” said Christopher Alf, chairman, National Airlines.
On Friday just before the flight’s departure the White House’s National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu, director for South Asia in White House’s National Security Council Sumona Guha and Jeremy Konyndyk at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were present at the Dulles airport for a brief press interaction.
The aircraft deployed from the Dulles International Airport is the US federal government third flight providing aid to India. The second flight with similar supplies lifted off from California earlier in the day. And flights like these will continue into next week airlifting urgent supplies like oxygen support, personal protective equipment, and rapid diagnostic tests to India. Earlier on Friday, two US government assistance flights arrived in India and the fourth flight with aid is also scheduled to leave for India soon.
