London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jun 03, 2026

Covid: Scotland and Wales send urgent supplies to India

Covid: Scotland and Wales send urgent supplies to India

Life-saving medical equipment has been flown to India from Scotland and Wales to help the country deal with its Covid-19 crisis.

The Scottish government provided 100 oxygen concentrators and 40 Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) ventilators which arrived on Friday.

The Welsh government sent 638 oxygen concentrators and 351 ventilators which arrived earlier this week.

The operation is being funded by the Foreign Office.

The devices can be used in hospitals, intensive care wards or other locations and are ideally suited to treat Covid-19 patients when there are constraints on the medical gas infrastructure supply.

They will be distributed by the Indian Red Cross.

The Scottish government's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: "The coronavirus situation in India is a human tragedy. We are working with the other UK nations to help tackle the crisis by providing equipment that can be used immediately to save lives.

"We will continue to make contributions within the international community, while tackling Covid-19 here in Scotland."

He said there were a number of ways to donate to the response effort, including the British Asian Trust's Oxygen for India Emergency Appeal, and the Disasters Emergency Committee, which has extended its Coronavirus Appeal to include India.

The medical supplies from Scotland arrived in India on Friday night

The medical equipment comes from surplus stocks across the UK, based on the needs identified by the Indian government.

Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: "Covid-19 is a global emergency and as such it is right that we are part of the global response, supporting other nations.

"We have worked closely with the UK government and the government of India on the logistics and arranged for supplies of ventilators and oxygen concentrators to be transported to India and distributed to the hospitals where they are needed most."

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments are working together to support India in its struggle against Covid.

"Our contribution of more oxygen concentrators and ventilators will save lives - and help our Indian friends overcome the virus."

The equipment is being distributed to hospitals that need it most


Oxygen concentrators are machines that take in room air, made up of oxygen, nitrogen and a small amount of carbon dioxide and remove the nitrogen from the air by passing it through special filters to create oxygen that can be delivered to patients through tubing.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a type of non-invasive ventilation that keeps the airways open and aids oxygenation.

The first delivery from the UK in late April provided 200 ventilators and 495 oxygen concentrators.

Earlier this month, the world's largest cargo plane flew over from Belfast with three surplus 18-tonne oxygen generators supplied by the Department for Health (Northern Ireland) plus a further 1,000 ventilators from the Department of Health and Social Care.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×