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One of the countries which is worst – affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the United Kingdom will soon receive its first coronavirusbatch of 3 million packets of paracetamol from India as the Government of India lifts the ban on export of drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol for countries in need. India manufactures these drugs on a large scale and therefore it is largest producer of these drugs in the world and exports it to many neighbour countries.
As COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, the United Kingdom has reached at 7th position with 74,605 confirm cases and 8,974 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the list of all the countries in the world affected by this global pandemic. On other hand, India has reports 7,600 confirm cases and 249 deaths caused by COVID-19, as of April 11.
The doctors considered that tablets of paracetamol are helpful to treat fever in the early stage of the novel COVID-19 disease and therefore it is crucial.
Lord Tariq Ahmad, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), said this shipment is a symbol of cooperation between India and United Kingdom which are fighting against this global crisis together. He expressed his gratitude to the Government of India and said “UK and India continue to work in close partnership to respond to the COVID-19 threat. My sincere thanks on behalf of the UK government to India for approving this important shipment,” on Friday.
The shipment of paracetamol drug will reach at United Kingdom most probably by Sunday, coinciding with a series of charter flights laid on by the Government of United Kingdom to ferry thousands of British residents stranded in India’s lockdown due to COVID-19. The traveler from Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram via Kochi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai via Bengaluru are confirm to fly over the next week. Before being allowed to board the charter flights and on landing in United Kingdom, travelers will be checked for any symptoms of COVID-19 and will be subject to self-isolation and social distancing.
Lord Tariq Ahmad also stated “We have been working very closely with the Indian authorities, here at the Indian High Commission in London, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and at state level in India to put in place all the necessary requirements for British nationals wanting to return to the UK.”
It is also to be noted that India has also supplied 29 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine to the United State of America (USA) after the conversation over the call between USA Prime Minister Mr. Donald Trump and India Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.
By seeing this shipment to USA, many countries across the world are demanding for anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for treatment of COVID-19 pandemic. The central government of India released the first list of 13 countries who will be supplied with HCQ on Friday. They include the USA, Spain, Germany, Bahrain, Brazil, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Mauritius and the Dominican Republic.
