WEB DESK
The United Kingdom has announced that it will send further vital oxygen equipment to India in support of the country’s fight against COVID-19, including so-called “oxygen factories” capable of high levels of oxygen production per minute.
Three oxygen generation units will be sent from surplus stocks in Northern Ireland, with each oxygen unit capable of producing 500 litres of oxygen per minute, enough for 50 people to use at a time.
The mini-factories, the size of shipping containers, have been organised to meet the ongoing massive demand for oxygen at Indian hospitals as one of the main requirements during a devastating second wave of the pandemic in the country.
“We have all seen the harrowing pictures of what is happening in India. It pains each one of us who is seeing those scenes,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, during a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday evening.
“India is a stark reminder that the pandemic is not over and a reminder of the need to be vigilant,” he said, as he revealed that he had been working with the devolved Northern Ireland government to organise the supply of the oxygen production equipment.