New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that the city will tap into its stockpile to send COVID-19 test kits, swabs, ventilators, BiPap machines, pulse oximeters, and other medical supplies to India, which is currently battling a devastating second wave of the pandemic.
However, de Blasio didn't disclose the quantity and schedule about the transnational aid, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Now, it is our turn to step up and help India in its moment of crisis. We are sending vital medical equipment to India to send a clear message: nobody is in the fight against COVID-19 alone. Together, we can save lives and beat back the pandemic.”Bill De Blasio, Mayor of New York City, in a statement on Friday
‘Indian-Americans Filled With Anger and Helplessness’
New York City Health Commissioner Dave A Chokshi, an Indian-American, said. "Our city, home to thousands of Indian-born New Yorkers, and our country, have a moral imperative to demonstrate global solidarity in order to overcome this devastating pandemic."
Chokshi appealed to the White House to take further action to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents and said that all research, technology and techniques for producing the jabs should be publicly shared.
"New York's thousands of Indian-Americans are filled with anger and helplessness as they witness the unnecessary tragedy back in the country that shaped each of us as a child," said Harpreet Singh Toor, co-founder and president of South Asians for Global Empowerment.
Toor said it is the right time to call for a full-scale effort to donate vaccines, COVID-19 test kits, swabs, ventilators, pulse oximeters, and every other type of relief possible to India.
The US has delivered six plane-loads of emergency medical supplies to India in fighting against a COVID-19 wave, according to a release by the US Agency for International Development on 6 May.
As a devastating wave of infections caught India off guard, more than 10 countries have offered to help India with aid.
The Red Cross Society of China recently donated oxygen concentrators and ventilators to India with delivery on Monday, 17 May.
Amid the critical situation, India's coronavirus caseload and death toll, as of Monday, stood at 2,49,65,463 and 2,74,390, respectively.
(This story has been edited for clarity.)
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