The government of India handed over 600,000 tablets to Afghanistan in a bid to help the Afghan authorities cure the patients of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

“In a series of offerings of critical drugs, India sent 100,000 paracetamol and 500,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to #Afghanistan through Ariana Airlines today. This is in addition to the 1st consignment of wheat India shipped earlier to bolster food security. Heartfelt thanks!” Tahir Qadiry, Afghanistan’s Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi said in a Twitter post.

This comes as global demand for the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine had boosted over the last few weeks after some studies showed that it helped to reduce the viral load in Covid-19 patients, according to Hindustan Times.

India delivered the medicines amid growing cases of COVID-19 across the country, including capital.

Afghanistan on Friday recorded 66 new positive cases of the disease, raising the total number of positive cases to 906.

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) confirmed that the health officials recorded 66 new positive cases of the disease across the country in the past 24 hours.

Waheedullah Mayar, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said Friday that 26 of the new positive cases were recorded in capital Kabul.

Mayar further added that the public health authorities recorded 15 new cases in Kandahar, 6 in Balkh, 5 in Kunduz, 5 in Herat, 4 in Helmand, 3 in Laghman, 1 in Nangarhar and 1 in Kunar province.