India ready to stand by friend nations; PM Modi offers helping hand for HCQ supply amid COVID crisis

New Delhi, April 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India needs India is ready to do whatever is possible to help our friends to combat the deadly virus and will jointly fight the coronavirus pandemic with other countries. His remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appreciated India for supplying Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to help his country.

  

 

"We have to jointly fight this pandemic. India is ready to do whatever is possible to help our friends. Praying for the well-being and good health of the people of Israel," Modi tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation on April 3 with Benjamin Netanyahu where the two leaders discussed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the response strategies adopted by their respective governments to counter the health crisis.

 

 

However, he had made a special request on March 13 asking PM Modi to approve and allow the export of masks and pharmaceuticals to Israel. India had rushed a five-tonne cargo of medicines, including anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, seen as a possible cure for COVID-19. Moreover, Israel has so far registered more than 10,000 COVID cases, of which 86 people have died and 121 patients are on ventilators.

 

 

The US, Brazil, and Israel had sought this help from India. PM Modi has assured the heads of these states that, to end the global pandemic, India would make these medicines available based on humanity. Earlier, US President Donald Trump also thanked PM Modi for allowing the export of raw materials to his country to produce hydroxychloroquine.

 

However, chloroquine was initially used to treat malaria. Later, it was used for relief from arthritis and joint pains. Hydroxychloroquine is an advanced version of the same drug. Investigations so far have proved that this drug is effective to some extent in the treatment of COVID-19.