The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that it stands to support African countries in fighting the new Covid-19 variant 'Omicron'. Supplies of Made-in-India vaccines will be provided to the affected countries, the MEA said.
"The Government of India stands ready to support the countries affected in Africa in dealing with the Omicron variant, including by supplies of Made-in-India vaccines. Supplies can be undertaken through COVAX or bilaterally.", the official statement read.
"India also stands ready to supply essential life-saving drugs, test kits, gloves, PPE kits, and medical equipment such as ventilators, as may be required", it further said.
India has, so far, supplied more than 25 million doses of Made-in-India vaccines to 41 countries in Africa, including nearly 1 million doses as granted to 16 countries and more than 16 million doses under the COVAX facility to 33 countries.
Meanwhile, South Africa on Monday said that it will remain on the lowest 'Level One' of its five-level lockdown strategy to fight the Covid-19 pandemic despite the global panic around the detection of the Omicron variant in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.
Ramaphosa also called on more than 20 countries that have imposed travel bans to and from South Africa and its neighbors to immediately end the ban to avoid further harm to the economies of these countries, which have already been battered by the pandemic.
"In taking the decision not to impose further restrictions at this stage, we considered the fact that when we encountered previous waves of infection, vaccines were not widely available, and far fewer people were vaccinated,” Ramaphosa said in a national broadcast on Sunday.
The World Health Organisation on Sunday asked countries around the world not to impose flight bans on southern African nations due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
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