France is sending India the much-needed aid as the most populated country in the world struggles with the second wave of coronavirus.
The aid comes after India reported more than 300,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, bringing the total number of infections to 17 million.
Five million of the total number of infections was counted on Apr. 2021 alone, pushing India's health care system to the brink of collapse.
COVID-19: India's Struggle With the Second Wave of Coronavirus
On Monday, Apr. 26, New York Times reported how India struggled to push back the second wave of coronavirus that quickly brought the country into a devastating crisis.
With a population of 1.3 billion, India's efforts to impose one of the world's strictest national lockdown had been for naught as the second wave caught the citizens off-guard, as the local COVID-19 variant raced out of control.
India reported 115,736 new infections on Apr. 5, 2021, toppling its former record of 97,894 cases in a single day, which was last seen on Sept. 16, 2020.
The numbers shot up to 323,023 on Monday, Apr. 26, forcing the country's already struggling healthcare system to turn away patients, leaving them to face the battle alone.
Migrant workers queue up to enter a railway station to leave the city ahead of a lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19 on April 14, 2021 in Mumbai, India.
Experts blame the devastating surge from the government's premature easing of coronavirus lockdowns after India seemed to be doing remarkably well in curbing the spread of the virus.
"Public behavior and administrative behavior matters," said Public Health Foundation of India chairman Dr. K Srinath Reddy. "If we do something for six weeks or four weeks, and then declare victory and again open the door wide open, then we are in trouble."
India's struggle seemed to prove earlier reports, wherein experts said that the new variants are more infectious than the original novel coronavirus.
India's Top Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel chokes on tears on @themojostory talking of deaths of friends and families. "India has lost the plot.. and this data, its manipulated, skewed, fake. underreported" - full show here: https://t.co/yP2E9tDmVT pic.twitter.com/DrWvTFjhFa
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) April 22, 2021
France Announces 'Solidarity Mission' to India
The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France announced a "solidarity mission" for India, pledging to send oxygen generators, ventilators, and ICU gears to help the country with its battle against COVID-19.
The first aid of shipment includes eight oxygen generators, each of which could equip 250 hospital beds that could last for several years.
France is also sending liquid medical oxygen, 28 respirators, and 200 electric syringe pumps that could help up to 10,000 patients a day.
"Coordinated by the Ministry's Crisis and Support Center and implemented by the French Embassy in India, the operation involves delivering the following by air and by sea, by the end of this week," the French Ministry said in a statement on Monday, Apr. 26.
The aid promises to provide India with the much-needed boost to increase the hospitals' capacity to treat COVID-19 patients and fight the pandemic over the long term.
The crisis India is facing has also caught the attention of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who also promised to send oxygen concentration devices to help the country address the oxygen shortage.
Related Article: COVID-19: Social Distancing at '6-Foot-Rule' Does Not Guarantee Safety [STUDY]
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Written by Leigh Mercer
