Yesterday, US President Donald Trump stated that he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablets to his country in order to treat COVID-19 patients. As we know, currently, the situation in the US is far worse than in India, with former having more than 3,00,000 cases.
Trump, who spoke at White House Coronavirus task force, went on to reveal that Narendra Modi is definitely considering his request in supplying hydroxychloroquine which he made during a telephonic conversation. “India makes a lot of it. They need a lot too for their billion-plus people. The hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug will be released through the Strategic National Stockpile for treatment,” he said.
He added that he will also take a tablet of hydroxychloroquine after India lifts hold on the US order of the medicine. “I may take it too, will have to talk to my doctors,” Trump quoted. Sooner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Had an extensive telephone conversation with President @realDonaldTrump. We had a good discussion, and agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to fight COVID-19.” The latest reports suggest that the US has the novel virus claiming at least 8,175 lives with a steep rise in the number of cases in the last 24 hours.
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the necessity and the significance of continued close cooperation between the United States and India to combat coronavirus, besides supplying indispensable pharmaceutical chains. Since India has millions of pills and only three cases at the moment, it would be appropriate to spare a few million at the moment in this unprecedented crisis that the US is facing.