The handover ceremony of medical equipment and supplies of Vietnam to India and Nepal took place on June 1 at the Vietnamese Embassy in India.

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The event was held in both online and offline forms, attracting the participation of nearly 20 charities in Vietnam, India and Nepal.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau presents gifts to the Indian Buddhist Federation and 14 organizations and individuals in India and Nepal. Photo: the World& Vietnam Report

On behalf of the Ngoc Phuong Vihara of the Vietnamese Mendicant Nuns' Order and the Buddhist University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau presented 35 ventilators and 14 packages of donations worth 13.653.000 Rupee (about 173,402 US$) to the Indian Buddhist Federation and 14 organizations and individuals in India and Nepal, according to the World& Vietnam Report.

Ambassador Chau said the aid from Vietnamese organizations and individuals demonstrated the solidarity and friendship between Vietnamese people and people of India and Nepal. He hoped that the two countries would soon surmount difficulties caused by the pandemic.

On behalf of the Gurudwara Patshahi Dasween Committee, Puneet Harjai said that India was grappling with the second wave of Covid-19. More than 200,000 people have succumbed to the disease, he added.

Photo: the World& Vietnam Report

The India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee has plan to use 300,000 Inidan rupees to buy necessities for 500 Covid-19 patients and needy people in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.

Representative of the Shiv Shakti and Gurgia Charity Foundation Shobhit Gupta said a part of the donation from Vietnam would be dedicated to hero Aman Kabeer in Vanarasi, Uttar Pradesh state who initiated the ambulance bike. The ambulance bike has unceasingly operated amid the rampant coronavirus situation, helping to take thousands of patients to the hospitals in time.

Another part of aid will come to Devender Sharma, Chairman of Shiv Shakti charity which helps poor households to cremate and organize funerals for their family members dying of Covid-19.

Addressing the event from Bengaluru, Srinivasa Murthy, Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Bengaluru City in Karnataka said that ventilators contributed by Ngoc Phuong Vihara would be presented to the Vasavi hospital in the city.

The aid from Vietnamese organizations and individuals demonstrated the solidarity and friendship between Vietnamese people and people of India and Nepal. Photo: the World& Vietnam Report

Representatives of organizations and individuals of India and Nepal expressed their thanks to the benefactors in Vietnam in particular and Vietnamese people in general and the Vietnam Embassy in India for their assistance.

These grants are of great significance especially in the context that Vietnam is experiencing its fourth wave of Covid-19. Sharing during the difficult time brings invaluable spiritual values, conveys mutual love and promote solidarity, he said.

These grants are of great significance especially in the context that Vietnam is experiencing its fourth wave of Covid-19. Photo: the World& Vietnam Report

After all, the fight against Covid-19 is not of an individual. We can only defeat the invisible enemy with the strength of the community, in which responsibility, solidarity and sharing are powerful weapons for Vietnam, India, Nepal as well as the international community to change from defense to counterattack to soon stamp out the pandemic.

On May 27, in Hanoi, the Vietnam - India Friendship Association under the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations presented 231 million VND (over 10,000 U.S. dollars) to the Vietnam Red Cross Society to support India through its deadly Covid-19 surge.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ha Minh Hue, permanent vice president of the friendship association, said that in the face of the complicated development of the Covid-19 in India, the Vietnam - India Friendship Association on May 6 has launched a fund-raising campaign to support and join hands with the Indian people to prevent this pandemic.

A medical worker takes care of a patient suffering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19), inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) hospital, in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Photo: Reuters

Responding to the call, members of associations and its chapters in Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Yen, Binh Duong, Can Tho, and Ho Chi Minh City participated enthusiastically. In particular, some Vietnamese individuals who love India, upon hearing the news, voluntarily contributed and personally went to the association's headquarters to deliver the donation.

As of May 26, the Vietnam - India Friendship Association has raised an amount of 231 million VND. On behalf of the friendship association, on May 27, Hue has presented the above-mentioned donation to the Indian people through the Vietnam Red Cross Society.

Although the amount is not large, it shows the solidarity of the Vietnamese with Indian people in this difficult time, Hue stressed.

First Secretary of the Indian Embassy in Vietnam Sushil Prasad thanked the good deeds of the Vietnam - India Friendship Association, the Vietnam Red Cross Society as well as the Vietnamese people, saying this is the timely concern and sharing, demonstrating the friendly cooperation and good tradition between India and Vietnam in the fight against the pandemic.

India recorded 1,32,788 new coronavirus cases and 3,207 deaths in the last 24 hours. With over 26,500 cases, Tamil Nadu was the biggest contributor to the country’s daily caseload. Active cases reduced by more than a lakh. The total number of active cases stands at about 17.93 lakh right now, Indianexpress reported.

For gradual lifting of lockdown or curfew restrictions in districts, the Centre said it rests on “three pillars”: positivity rate below 5 percent for a week, vaccination of 70 percent of the vulnerable population, and community ownership of Covid-appropriate behavior and care. While nearly half of India’s 718 districts now report seven-day positivity of less than 5 percent, only 32 percent of those in the 45+ age group have got their first dose.

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court urged the Centre to prioritize the youth in its nationwide vaccination drive. “The administration of the drug to patients who have better chances of survival may have to be prioritized,” it said. It said that younger patients may also have to be prioritized in the distribution of the drug to treat mucormycosis or black fungus.

Nepal has reported 5,285 new cases of coronavirus in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 566,587, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health and Population also said the nation has reported 68 new cases of deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 7,454.

"The total number of new cases in the last 24 hours stands at 5,285 taking the total infections of coronavirus to 566,857," the health ministry said in a statement.

As of Tuesday, there are 104,789 corona active cases in the country.

Nepal's Covid-19 recovery rate currently stands at 80.2 percent, the statement said.

Malie Nguyen