A day after the Indian government gave its approval for the export of the anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine to the United States, President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him ‘terrific.’
After much debate about the export of the hydroxychloroquine drug that is believed to cure the patients suffering from COVID-19, India gave its nod to the United States. The move came after a phone call shared between the two leaders of the country. Within a day, India that had banned all its export exempted the United States from the restriction. The United States President has been advocating the use of Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in the treatment of COVID-19 patients despite the task force headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci putting the claim down.
Donald Trump Praises ‘Terrific’ Modi
After receiving approval from the Indian government, Donald Trump applauded the gesture with a tweet. In the tweet, he wrote,
“Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you, India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten! Thank You, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight.”
Further, in his task force press conference at the White House, he praised Narendra Modi and called him terrific. He said,
“I want to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested for the problem and he was terrific. We will remember it.”
Following that, there has been massive outrage on the move as reports of the shortage of Hydroxychloroquine in the medical shops across the country. The drug is also used to treat arthritis. Another reason for the outrage was Trump’s remarks of ‘retaliation’ if India refused to allow the export. This has sparked debate on social media. Hours after Trump’s remark, the Ministry of External affairs revoked the ban and said that exports will carry on to the nations that have been badly affected in the pandemic.
The United States of America has been the worst hit by the pandemic as the number of confirmed cases reached 4,31,000, five times more than that of China where the virus was first reported. On Wednesday alone, the United States reported 2,000 deaths due to the novel coronavirus that made the total tally up to 15,000 in the country.
