WASHINGTON – The US government has asked its citizens to leave India assoon as possible as India’s total COVID-19 cases passed 18 million onThursday after another world record daily infection.
India reported 379,257 new COVID-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday,according to health ministry data. It was the country’s highest number ofdeaths reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed while oxygen is in critically low supply.Several parts of the country are under lockdown and curfew, includingcapital Delhi.
In a statement, the US State Department advised its citizens not to travelto India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.
Earlier, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday the United Stateswas sending supplies worth more than $100 million to India to help it fighta surge of COVID-19 cases.
The supplies, which will begin arriving on Thursday and continue into nextweek, include 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 millionrapid diagnostic tests, the statement said.
The United States also has redirected its own order of AstraZeneca (AZN.L)manufacturing supplies to India, which will allow it to make over 20million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the White House.
India will receive a first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine againstCOVID-19 on May 1. Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which is marketingSputnik V globally, has already signed agreements with five leading Indianmanufacturers for over 850 million doses of the vaccine a year. read more
Bangladesh on Thursday said it will send about 10,000 vials of injectableanti-viral, oral anti-viral, 30,000 PPE kits, and several thousand zinc,calcium, vitamin C and other necessary tablets to India.
Germany will send 120 ventilators to India on Saturday, followed by amobile oxygen production facility next week, its defence ministry said.
Earlier this week, Australia banned all flights from India to relievepressure on the nation’s system of mainly quarantining returned residentsfrom overseas in inner-city hotels, after a jump in infections.
The United Kingdom has barred any visitor who has been in India in theprevious 10 days from entering.
British and Irish nationals arriving in England from India must quarantinein a hotel.