NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has donated medical equipment through the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) to help India fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FIA of New York Tri-State Area said that the equipment were shipped last week by Air India with the cooperation of the Indian Consulate General to New Delhi and Mumbai.
The FIA said that along with the Consulate, it showed the impact of Covid-19 on the ground in India to de Blasio’s office to facilitate the donations.
Earlier while announcing the donation, de Blasio said: “Just over a year ago, New York City was the centre of the global pandemic. Now it is our turn to step up and help India in its moment of crisis. “We are sending vital medical equipment to India to send a clear message: nobody is in the fight against Covid-19 alone. Together, we can save lives and beat back the pandemic.”
New York Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, who is of Indian descent, said: “Our city, home to thousands of Indian-born New Yorkers, and our country have a moral imperative to demonstrate global solidarity in order to overcome this devastating pandemic.”
FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya praised the efforts of de Blasio and his team for arranging the equipment donation.
New York City, which went through a harrowing phase of the pandemic last year, has made a remarkable recovery with the infection positivity rate down to 0.79 per cent and only three deaths in the past week.
This has enabled the city government to donate equipment from its stockpile. The equipment include 350 ventilators and related supplies, and 310,000 pulse oximeters and 1,000 rescuation bags. Earlier, the FIA had donated $167,000 to the Prime Minister Cares Fund.
It also donated a gas-electric crematory to Bihar state.
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