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Switzerland sends oxygen and body bags to India

Citizens of India line up for a nasal swab.
India is the global epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Switzerland is helping India confront its brutal second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 13 tonnes of supplies. 

A cargo plane took off from Zurich on Thursday bound for New Delhi carrying 600 oxygen concentrators and 50 respirators for intensive care. 

The oxygen concentrators were bought on the private market by the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, a sub-division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.  

Switzerland’s defence ministry supplied the respirators after checking that they were not needed to support the Swiss health system. 

The aid sent also includes body bags.  

With more than 21 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India has become the global epicentre of the pandemic in recent weeks. Official tallies put the country’s death toll at 230,168 as of Thursday but experts say the real figure is much higher.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR