Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani expresses solidarity with India amid COVID-19 crisis

As India battles the devastating second wave of COVID-19 pandemic with the nation clocking more than 3 lakh cases every day and making a new high in single-day spike of COVID-19 infections, Afghanistan has expressed solidarity with India as it grapples with the pandemic. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani offered condolences to Indian families who lost their loved ones and wished a speedy recovery to those suffering from COVID-19 in India.

Even Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammed Haneef Atmar took to Twitter to express solidarity while noting that all the countries to whom India supplied COVID-19 vaccines would be praying for India to recover and come out stronger from this crisis.

UK to send help to India

Even the United Kingdom has expressed its commitment to assist India in its fight against the COVID-19 crisis. The UK government will send vital medical equipment including ventilators and oxygen concentrators. The first batch of life-saving equipment is due to arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday, followed by further shipments through the week.

This comes after the Indian High Commission in London issued an open appeal through social media for help to meet the rising demand for oxygen and medical supplies due to the deadly second wave of the pandemic. It listed the required items as refillable oxygen cylinders, concentrators, and the drug Remdesivir, used to treat severe COVID-19 cases. On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK is looking at ways to help and support India through the crisis.

“We are supporting our Indian friends with vital medical equipment at a difficult time for them in this pandemic,” said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

The European Union on Sunday said it is pooling in resources to respond rapidly to help India's fight against the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic

“We have all got to work together to tackle Covid-19. India is a very important partner to us, so we’re providing oxygen concentrators and ventilators to help save the lives of the most vulnerable. We will be following up on this first delivery with further support, based on our ongoing discussions with the Indian government,” he said.

“The heart-breaking scenes in India show once again how awful this terrible disease is. We are determined to support the people of India through this very difficult time, and I am hugely grateful to those who have worked hard to make this initial delivery happen,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

India has recorded over a million infections in four days, with 349,961 new cases on Sunday. The Sunday's record spike has become the highest single-day spike across the globe. According to the Union Health Ministry, the country has recorded 2,767 new deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. 

(with inputs from ANI)