CHENNAI: India will provide two containers of oxygen to Sri Lanka which are urgently needed to meet the shortage of supply in hospitals following the rapid surge of Covid cases in that country.
The oxygen tankers carrying 35 tonnes of oxygen will be loaded into Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Shakthi, which will arrive on Wednesday evening. The vessel will depart on Thursday morning, said Chennai Port officials.
Sri Lanka has recorded over 3.58 lakh coronavirus cases, while the death toll has touched 6,263. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered the Navy to bring the oxygen supplies from India in order to minimise the delays.
It is learnt that the Sri Lankan government plans to import 100 metric tonnes of oxygen from India initially and more orders would be placed depending on the need.
Sources said the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid, is the dominant variant in Sri Lanka. It is spreading 60-70% faster than the previous strains.