Romania offers India medical equipment to manage severe COVID-19 cases

Romania has sent medical equipment to India, given the country's surge in the number of cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus in serious condition, informs the Ministry of National Defense (MApN) in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

According to the cited source, a C-130 Hercules aircraft of the Romanian Air Force left for the Republic of India on Wednesday, in a humanitarian assistance mission for the emergency transport of medical equipment for this country, severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The emergency aid offered by Romania consists in the free transfer of medical equipment consisting of: 80 concentrators, 75 oxygen cylinders and 20 high-flow oxygen therapy devices," the release specifies.

The source says that Romania is thus joining European and international efforts to support India, which is facing a dramatic situation amid an unprecedented wave of COVID-19 cases.

The Ministry of National Defense mentions that the Romanian medical equipment is among the first to arrive in New Delhi, and in the following days transports of equipment and medicines are scheduled on behalf of other EU member states within the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, recently activated at EU level as part of Team Europe's efforts.

"Solidarity is the key word in these difficult times. Today, the Romanian people are with the Indian people. The Romanian government responded immediately to the request made by the authorities of the Republic of India, transmitted through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, for international assistance in the context of efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," State Secretary with the Ministry of National Defense Simona Cojocaru was cited as saying by the release.

The aircraft took off from Base 90 Air Transport on Wednesday, around 15:00 hrs.

Originally set up in 2001 to strengthen the European Union's collective response to natural and crisis disasters, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is designed to facilitate, coordinate and streamline the Participating States' response in emergencies. The initiative includes EU member states and 6 non-EU countries: Iceland, Norway, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. The mechanism can be activated at the request of any participating state. The European Commission covers 75 percent of the transport of assistance. To date, the Mechanism has been used 420 times for assistance both inside and outside the EU.