India has set a new daily COVID-19 cases record for a fourth straight day, with the country’s health ministry reporting 349,691 more infections Sunday.
The big picture: Hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients and there’s a widespread oxygen shortage. 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.
What’s more: The U.S. will be helping provide India with resources and supplies to help fight the surge in cases, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed in a statement Sunday.
- PPE equipment, rapid diagnostic test kits, therapeutics, and ventilators will 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.”
This post has been updated with information from National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne.