India sends INS Kesari with medical teams, supplies to Mauritius, Comoros to fight COVID

In a bid to help island nations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) deal with the coronavirus pandemic and prevent an outbreak of dengue fever, India has dispatched a warship with two medical teams along with medical supplies to assist authorities in the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian Navy’s INS Kesari was deployed in response to requests for assistance from IOR countries in dealing with the pandemic. The warship is carrying consignments of COVID-19-related essential medicines and food supplies.

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Medical teams to help fight COVID-19, Dengue

The two medical assistance teams on board will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros to help the authorities deal with the COVID-19 crisis and also dengue fever in Comoros. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus and is common in tropical climatic conditions like in islands.

The vessel will also deliver consignments of COVID-19-related medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and 600 tonnes of food supplies to the Maldives. It is also carrying a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines for Mauritius, the MEA said.

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The consignments for Madagascar and Comoros include hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets, which India had previously supplied in vast quantities to the Maldives. Mauritius and Seychelles. India had also deployed a team of select medical workers to the Maldives to augment the preparedness of authorities there to fight the pandemic. The Indian Ocean archipelago had so far reported 766 Covid-19 cases and three deaths.

(With inputs from agencies)

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