US Wants to Help India Produce Oxygen Fast

WASHINGTON - The United States, which has sent emergency aid to India, wants to quickly help the country increase its oxygen capacity to treat patients suffering from COVID-19, a U.S. official said Thursday.

A first military plane loaded with equipment, including nearly 1 million rapid screening tests and 100,000 N95 masks, arrived early Friday in New Delhi. The shipment is part of a more than $100 million support plan, according to the White House. The priority "is to try to meet some of their immediate needs to deal with the serious challenges they face in their hospitals," said Jeremy Konyndyk of the U.S. Agency for International Development. "We also need to help them address some of the underlying challenges, on the volume of oxygen the country can produce," he told AFP.