WHO chief Tedros says sending help to India as COVID-19 surges

The head of the World Health Organization is calling the recent surge in coronavirus in India “beyond heartbreaking” and says the UN agency has dispatched critical supplies to the subcontinent, including thousands of portable oxygen machines that help patients breathe.

At a press briefing on Monday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic “continues to intensify” globally and that coronavirus infections have now risen for the ninth straight week, while deaths have increased for the sixth week in a row.

For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.

“There were as many cases globally last week as in the first five months of the pandemic,” he said.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

To address the crisis in India, Tedros said WHO has redeployed more than 2,000 staff to support the country’s response on the ground and is helping authorities with efforts including vaccination.

Among the supplies WHO has sent India are pre-made mobile field hospitals and lab supplies, he said.

Read more:

PM Modi says India shaken by coronavirus 'storm'

COVID-19 ‘swallowing’ people in India, crematoriums overwhelmed

Saudi Arabia sends oxygen to India amid hospital shortage, surge in COVID-19 cases