The Thai government has sent medical supplies by military aircraft to help fight the devastating surge of COVID-19 in India, before returning to Bangkok with infected embassy officials in need of treatment.
The Royal Thai Air Force Airbus A320 aircraft today departed Bangkok at 7 a.m. bound for New Delhi, India, on a mission to deliver medical supplies to India and retrieve embassy officials infected with COVID-19.
Onboard the flight were 30 small oxygen concentrators provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Thai Embassy to India in New Delhi, which will be delivered to the Indian Red Cross Society to help support the country’s fight against COVID-19.
Siam Cement Group has provided 32 sets of cardboard bed frames out of 200 to be delivered by this flight to the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, along with medications and herbal products to help take care of Thai nationals in India, including green chiretta extract and Favipiravir pills.
After the delivery mission, the plane will bring back three officials from the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, plus one other person believed to have been exposed to the infection, all of whom require treatment in Thailand.
One of the patients has developed a lung infection and a high fever, and is to receive medical treatment on arrival in Bangkok. A decision was made to transport the officials back to Thailand due to the lack of beds and medical equipment at local hospitals.
According to the embassy, there are two other Thai nationals in New Delhi, and a Thai national in nearby Lucknow who currently have COVID-19. The embassy says however, that the three had declined repatriation, as they now have families in India.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thailand as a partner sharing good relationships with India, must provide help in the time of crisis.
Last year, the Prime Ministers of both countries discussed bilateral cooperation in their public health and COVID-19 pandemic responses, with India permitting the export of essential medications for the treatment of COVID-19 patients to Thailand.
