India provides safety kit to Serbia amid shortage

The health ministry has rejected any knowledge of the matter

NEW DELHI: India has reportedly shipped around 90 tons of surgical appliances and protection gear to Serbia after a major shortage of security gear for healthcare workers treating Coronavirus patients came to light. The matter was discovered after a tweet from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Serbian wing was found. The health ministry has rejected any knowledge of the matter.

The consignment of 90 tonnes contained 50 tons of medical gloves. In fact, there were gloves and coveralls that the emergency staff are in desperate need of. Kochi airport spokeswoman said another consignment was sent on March 29, including 35 lakh pairs of sterile surgical glove.

The consignment of 30 tons was sent to Belgrade on a cargo freighter from Transaviaexport Airlines. The Cochin Customs had made clearance simpler and had tweeted about it.

The tweet read: "Cochin customs in action to clear a consignment of 35 lakhs of sterile latex surgical gloves to Serbia to help the # COVID2019 global fight". Speaking regarding the situation, the Ministry of Health said that they did not know. "Our goal is to establish logistics in India and to procure content from other countries. I don't know about it as far as Serbia is concerned," MOHFW Joint Secretary Luv Agarwal said.

Near to 100 doctors around the country were quarantined after they came into touch with patients with Coronavirus while operating without any protective equipment. Some have also developed the infection.

In Lucknow, the authorities of the renowned King George's Medical Academy, the Coronavirus pandemic care centre in Uttar Pradesh, denied the appeal for advanced security from OPD doctors. There have been stories of doctors using raincoats and motorbike helmets in certain parts of the world. However, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Luv Agrawal, during a press conference on Tuesday, said, "I am not aware of this. I will check and revert with details."

While many wondered what the consignment contained and whether the items that are on the prohibited list or scarce in India were being sent, sources told the news agency that none from 'prohibited list' was exported.

"We have not exported anything from the prohibited list. However, items on the 'restricted list' can be sent in

a case to case basis depending on the government policies, decisions, prior commitments after assessing info about availability, storage, prod capacity, and anticipated demand," the source said.