India Covid-19 crisis: UAE residents ship thousands of vital oxygen machines amid deadly second wave

Residents and businesses in the UAE are sending vital oxygen concentrators to desperate families in India.

The country is in the grip of a second wave of Covid-19. India has now recorded more than 24 million cases of the disease, with a death toll of at least 270,000.

Hospitals in India are reeling under the pressure because of limited numbers of beds and a shortage of oxygen supplies.

But residents in the Emirates are sending critically needed oxygen concentrators – which extract oxygen from the air to help Covid-19 patients breathe – to the country.

Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics, said the company has shipped more than 2,000 units in the past three weeks from its Hong Kong offices, with many ordered by UAE residents.

"There were a lot of people who were helpless in this situation," Mr Panjabi said.

"This was not our regular line of business but we wanted to help ease the situation in India. Our commitment was not to run this as a huge profit-making scheme."

Many oxygen concentrators have been ordered by Indian residents in the UAE for their families in India, while people in the US, Singapore, Philippines and Germany have also placed orders.

"We have a little bit of overheads but the objective is to have people feel a little less helpless," Mr Panjabi said.

He said his company was able to deliver oxygen concentrators within four days to major Indian cities.

Jacky's Electronics, which has outlets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman, is handling online requests for single machines of five-litre capacity for $999 (Dh3,669). This price includes delivery across India.

Another company, Continental Courier Services in Dubai, started a door-to-door delivery service.

It picks up the oxygen concentrator from people's homes anywhere in the UAE and deliver these within five to 10 days to their relatives in India.

Umang Bhartia, chief executive at Continental Courier Services, said he had shipped around 50 units from the UAE to India in the past few weeks.

"Families in the UAE who have relatives who are unwell back home are sending concentrators,"  said Mr Bhartia.

"We never intended to make money out of this and are offering a 20 per cent discount to families sending concentrators.

"The idea was to help people."

A commercial shipment excluding the unit can cost between Dh800 and Dh1,600.

The company takes care of red tape for clients, and Mr Bhartia said some families had sent multiple machines through his courier service.

Delhi and its neighbouring regions, which have been badly hit by the pandemic, are the most popular destinations.

"A week ago, I was getting hundreds of queries from people wanting to sending concentrators but there was a shortage," said Mr Bhartia.

"I would get close to 200 calls a day. At the time I could not do any other work or answer any other calls."

While the shipment can reach homes in major cities in six days, it may take up to 10 days if sending to a location in the interior of India.

The Indian government has exempted personal use oxygen concentrators from taxes when imported, and airlines are giving the shipments priority.

An Indian resident in Dubai, who did not wish to be named, sent four oxygen machines through Continental Courier Services to his family in Delhi and neighbouring Haryana state in the north, and the central city of Bangalore.

"I have family members who are elderly and have medical conditions, so I sent these to help them as there is an acute shortage of oxygen in the country," he said.

DHL is also shipping oxygen concentrators from the UAE to India.

People across the world have stepped up to help India as it battles the Covid-19 pandemic.

The American non-profit Direct Relief sent a FedEx-donated Boeing 777 loaded with 500 oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies to India over the weekend.