The European Commission has activated its EU Civil Protection Mechanism and is seeking to send oxygen and medicine to virus-hit India after receiving a request from Delhi.
India has seen a massive surge in COVID-19 cases in recent days, with hospitals in the capital and across the country turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.
“Alarmed by the epidemiological situation in India. We are ready to support,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
The United States said it was deeply concerned by the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India and was racing to send aid to India.
India’s number of cases surged by 349 691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks, and hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.
“We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation,” Modi said in a radio address.
Modi’s government has faced criticism that it let its guard down, allowed big religious and political gatherings to take place when India’s cases plummeted to below 10 000 a day and did not plan on building up the healthcare systems.
Hospitals and doctors have put out urgent notices that they were unable to cope with the rush of patients.
People were arranging stretchers and oxygen cylinders outside hospitals as they desperately pleaded for authorities to take patients in, Reuters photographers said.
“Every day, it the same situation, we are left with two hours of oxygen, we only get assurances from the authorities,” one doctor said on television.
