France to send medical aid to India

France will send medical aid to India by the end of this week to help the country hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the French Foreign Ministry, reported Xinhua.

In response to needs expressed by Indian officials, France will send 8 oxygen generators, each able of providing an Indian hospital with oxygen autonomy for a dozen years, as well as containers of liquid oxygen to supply medical oxygen to up to 10,000 patients a day, the ministry said in a statement released on Monday night.

France will also send specialized medical equipment including 28 respirators, as well as 200 electric syringe pumps, it said.

The supplies would be delivered by air and sea by the end of this week, it added.

India is experiencing a shortage of medical supplies as the country is being hit by a new wave of COVID-19 outbreaks.

On Tuesday, India reported 323,144 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,771 deaths in the past 24 hours. It is the sixth consecutive day when over 300,000 new cases were registered.