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Updated Apr 26, 2021 - World

U.S. to send India supplies as country faces record COVID surge

Rebecca Falconer
Relatives transport a Covid-19 coronavirus patient on a stretcher as they leave a hospital in New Delhi on April 24

Family members transport a COVID-19 patient on a stretcher as they leave a hospital in New Delhi on April 24. India surpassed the U.S. daily cases record on April 22. Photo: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration has pledged to send vital resources and supplies to India, as the country set a new global daily COVID-19 cases record for a fifth straight day Monday.

The big picture: As hospitals continued to be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients amid a widespread oxygen shortage, India's health ministry reported 352,991 more infections, taking the total past 17 million. A record 2,812 deaths were confirmed Monday, taking the total to 195,123 since the pandemic began.

What they're saying: Secretary of State Tony Blinken tweeted late Saturday the U.S. was "working closely" with India's government. "We will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India's health care heroes," he added.

Zoom in: National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed in a statement Sunday that PPE equipment, rapid diagnostic test kits, therapeutics, and ventilators would be among the supplies made available to India.

  • The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will fund the manufacturing capability expansion of India's vaccine manufacturer, so that more vaccine doses can be produced.
  • The U.S. will be deploying a team of public health advisors from the CDC and USAID to "work in close collaboration with the U.S. Embassy, India’s health ministries, and India’s Epidemic Intelligence Service staff."

Of note: The EU and U.K. have also announced plans to send aid to India.

In photos: India's COVID crisis
A COVID-19 patient being moved to another hospital amid a shortage in beds and medical oxygen due to the pandemic in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on April 24.
A COVID-19 patient being moved to another hospital amid a shortage in beds and medical oxygen due to the pandemic in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on April 24. Photo: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Relatives at the graves of loved ones who died due to Covid-19, at Jadid Qabristan Ahle Islam, at ITO, on April 24, 2021 in New Delhi, India.
A relative visiting on on April 24 the grave of a patient who died of COVID-19 in New Delhi. Photo: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
A volunteer during an awareness campaign during the lockdown amid in surge of COVID-19 cases at Badi Chaupar, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on April 24
A coronavirus awareness campaign during the lockdown at Badi Chaupar, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on April 24. Photo: Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A view of Lower Bazar after the governments decision of weekend lockdown, on April 24, 2021 in Shimla, India
The scene in Lower Bazar in Shimla, India, during a weekend regional lockdown on April 24 . Photo: Deepak Sansta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
A BMC healthcare worker collects swab samples of passengers at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, on April 24, 2021 in Mumbai, India.
A BMC healthcare worker collecting COVID swab samples of passengers at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai April 24. Photo: Satish Bate/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Tourists are seen at Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden in Srinagar, Jammu And Kashmir, India on 24 April
Tourists at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden in Srinagar, in the Indian-administered region of Jammu And Kashmir on April 24. Local officials have implemented a night -time curfew for this weekend. Photo: Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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