COVID RELIEF AID FLOWS IN AS 20 VENTILATORS, O2 PRODUCTION UNIT ARRIVE FROM ITALY

On Monday afternoon, a shipment of an oxygen production plant and 20 ventilators arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as Covid relief aid from Italy. On Sunday, two relief aircraft from the US landed in the Capital carrying over 1,000 oxygen cylinders, regulators and other medical equipment as well as 125,000 vials of remdesivir.

Several countries have been extending a helping hand to India, to fight the second wave of the pandemic that has hit the country hard, resulting in a shortage of oxygen, beds, drugs and other medical essentials.

Between April 28 and May 2, the Delhi airport has handled around 25 Covid relief flights, which have brought in around 300 tonnes of medical supplies from various countries such as the US, the UK, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Germany, Qatar, Hong Kong and China.

The relief material received so far comprises over 5,500 oxygen concentrators, approximately 3,200 oxygen cylinders, over 928,000 face masks and about 136,000 remdesivir injections.

All the relief material received on Monday was transferred to the cargo area of the airport and stored inside a temperature-controlled warehouse, JEEVODAY, set up to handle relief material, until the goods are dispatched to their destinations, Delhi airport officials said.

The airport operator, DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd), said they have a dedicated team of operators at the cargo terminal -- clearing agents, staff from the warehouses and government agencies such as the customs and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) — who together ensure that all incoming relief material is processed and handled without delay.

“We ensure priority landing is given to flights carrying Covid relief material, and such aircraft get parking at the cargo bays near the cargo terminals, just like aircraft bringing in vaccines. We make sure consignments are processed and cleared in the least possible time,” DIAL said.

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