Trivandrum airport handles transportation of 9.76 MT COVID-19 vaccines, 180 oxygen cylinders till Wednesday

The Trivandrum airport has handled the transportation of 9.76 metric tonnes COVID-19 vaccines, 300 oxygen concentrators and 180 oxygen cylinders till Wednesday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said on Thursday.

India has been badly hit by a second wave of coronavirus infections, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of vaccines, oxygen, drugs, equipment and beds.

"To overcome the oxygen crisis, a total of 300 oxygen concentrators, 180 oxygen cylinders were transported by Indian Air Force aircraft like C-17, AN-32 till May 19 in Kerala via Trivandrum," the AAI's statement noted.

The Centre-run AAI owns and manages more than 100 Indian airports, including the Trivandrum airport.

"A total of 313 boxes (9.76 MT) of COVID-19 vaccines have been transported through various airlines till May 19 through the Trivandrum airport," the AAI stated.

With 2,76,110 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,57,72,440 while the daily deaths were recorded below 4,000 after four days, taking the toll to 2,87,122, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

A total of 3,874 fatalities due to COVID-19 were registered in a span of 24 hours.

Also read: COVID-19 impact: 57.25 lakh domestic passengers travelled via air in April, 26.9% less than March, says DGCA