Indians hail international aid as Covid-19 outbreak rages

Medicines and equipment have begun to arrive in India, with more deliveries expected in the coming days

Workers carry biodegradable cardboard beds at a makeshift ward set up at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in south Delhi. Bloomberg

Health workers turn away an ambulance at the main entrance of Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital in India's capital New Delhi. Bloomberg

Harsh Vardhan, India's health minister, inspects a Covid-19 centre in the capital city of New Delhi. India is now the global coronavirus hotspot, setting daily new records for the world's highest number of cases. Bloomberg

People carry oxygen cylinders after refilling them at a factory amid a surge in coronavirus cases in India's western city of Ahmedabad. Reuters

Workers prepare beds at a makeshift Covid-19 ward set up at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in south Delhi. Bloomberg

A man suffering from shortness of breath receives free oxygen inside his car at a gurudwara, Sikh temple, amid the spread of coronavirus, in northern Indian city of Ghaziabad. Reuters

A board indicates unavailability of beds at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital in India's capital New Delhi. Bloomberg

Relatives offer prayers before they bury the body of a Covid-19 victim in Guwahati, the capital of north-east Indian state Assam. AP Photo

A sign indicates unavailability of oxygen at the Covid-19 care centre set up at the Commonwealth Games Village Sports Complex in New Delhi. Bloomberg

A patient wearing an oxygen mask looks on as his wife holds a battery-operated fan as they wait inside an auto-rickshaw to enter a Covid-19 hospital, in western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Reuters

A man rides a bicycle through a deserted market area in the northern Indian city of Amritsar amid the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. AFP

Health workers outside a Covid-19 ward set up at the Commonwealth Games Village Sports Complex in New Delhi. Bloomberg

Patients inside a Covid-19 ward set up at the Commonwealth Games Village Sports Complex in New Delhi. Bloomberg

Indians have hailed the international response to the coronavirus surge in their country, where the healthcare system is buckling under a deluge of new cases and patients are dying in the streets due to a shortage of medical facilities.

Images of overwhelmed hospitals and makeshift crematoriums shocked the world this week, prompting offers of assistance to New Delhi.

The UAE, the US, the UK, the EU and India's regional rival Pakistan all rushed to offer medical aid and assistance.

Special flights were on their way to India on Tuesday, carrying supplies of medicines and medical equipment to boost the overstretched resources of the world's second-most populous country.

An Indian Air Force aircraft flew to Dubai on Monday to collect seven cryogenic containers for storing oxygen.

A flight from New York was en route to India carrying hundreds of oxygen concentrators.

Similar deliveries have arrived from Singapore, with more were expected from France, Japan and Germany.

With aid pouring in, Indians on social media hailed the global response to the country's plight.

“We Indians will always remember this. Thank you USA,” wrote one user.

“Humanity will win and thank you for timely support and leading the way. It’s indeed a pleasure to see the world putting up a fight against a common enemy in one voice,” wrote another user, Mayur Modi, commenting on Germany’s support.

Pakistan has also offered medical equipment, but there was no confirmation whether New Delhi has accepted the offer.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that his country was working closely with New Delhi to assist and "rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India's healthcare heroes".

The US also promised to allow raw materials for vaccines to be sent to India, after factories in the country complained that a US ban on exports had led to a shortfall in vaccine production.

India set a new global record for daily cases for five straight days before a slight dip on Monday, when the Health Ministry reported 323,144 new cases and 2,771 deaths over 24 hours. There was no sign of the country’s outbreak slowing.

The country had added more than 325,000 cases a day since last Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to 17.6 million.

With more than 2.6 million active cases, many people are struggling to get treatment in hospitals or at home.

India's death toll is approaching 200,000, with many experts warning that the reported total is just the tip of the iceberg.

The rise in Covid-19 cases and widespread shortage of medicines and oxygen supplies has stirred public anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of the second wave.

New Delhi, one of the worst hit areas in the country, had just 12 intensive care beds available on Monday.

Infection levels rose in late March after the pandemic had ebbed at the beginning of the year, prompting the country's health minister to prematurely declare victory in the battle against the coronavirus last month.

Many experts have warned that the country could report up to half a million cases a day in the coming weeks.