New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced Monday that a total of 3.34 lakh coveralls, part of protective gear doctors and other medical staff require to tackle infectious diseases like Covid-19, have been made available in hospitals across the country.
State-owned aerospace and defence company Bharat Electronics Ltd has been asked to manufacture 30,000 ventilators during the next month in collaboration with local manufacturers, said the ministry. The government has also asked automobile manufacturers to use their facilities to produce ventilators.
The minister also said 3 lakh more coveralls donated from abroad would be received by the end of the week.
#CoronaVirusUpdates :
3.34 lakh PPE coveralls are available with hospitals in the country. Another 3 lakh donated coveralls being received from abroad by 4th April.#IndiaFightsCorona @PMOIndia @NITIAayog @drharshvardhan @FordaIndia @nppa_india @AIIMSRDA @IMAIndiaOrg @Pharmadept— Ministry of Health ?? #StayHome #StaySafe (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 30, 2020
According to guidelines published by the World Health Organization as well as the central government, gowns are part of the personal protective equipment (PPE) required by those on the frontlines of the battle against Covid-19. Other equipment include gloves, medical masks, goggles or a face shield, head and shoe covers, and, for specific procedures, respirators and aprons.
Through a Twitter thread Monday, the ministry sought to offer updates about steps being taken to arrange crucial PPE components for health workers across the country.
According to the ministry, orders for 10 lakh PPE kits had been placed through the External Affairs Ministry with a Singapore-based platform and supplies would commence soon. Another 20 lakh PPE coveralls had been ordered from a South Korean firm, it said.
Orders for 20 lakh #PPE coveralls have been placed on a #SouthKorea firm which has a capacity to produce 1 lakh coveralls per day. Supplies are expected to commence in 10 days.
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 30, 2020
One of the tweets said that 11 domestic producers of coveralls had qualified so far, and an order placed for 21 lakh units of the PPE essential.
#IndiaFightsCorona:
11 domestic producers of #PPE PPE coveralls have qualified so far and orders for 21 lakh have been placed on them. They are supplying 6-7,000 pieces per day and are expected to go up to 15,000 per day by mid-April.
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 30, 2020
The government said another 10,000 coveralls had been donated by the Red Cross and were being distributed among health workers.
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Masks for protection
The government’s assurance came amid reports that medical staff and health workers tackling coronavirus cases were ill-equipped to handle the pandemic and didn’t have enough PPE to tend to the patients without exposing themselves to infection risk.
In his address to the nation on 24 March, PM Narendra Modi said the central government would provide doctors with enough PPE to ensure their safety. The Health Ministry announced Monday that two domestic manufacturers were producing 50,000 N95 masks daily, adding that the number would double within a week.
#IndiaFightsCorona :#CoronaVirusUpdates :
2 domestic manufacturers are producing 50,000 #N95masks per day. This is expected to go up to 1 lakh per day within next week.@PMOIndia @NITIAayog @drharshvardhan @FordaIndia @nppa_india @AIIMSRDA @IMAIndiaOrg @Pharmadept @TexMinIndia
— Ministry of Health ?? #StayHome #StaySafe (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 30, 2020
Over the next week, it added, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would also start manufacturing approximately 20,000 N99 masks every day to address any shortage.
Ventilators being arranged too
According to a LiveMint report dated 28 March, an analysis by Johns Hopkins University, the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, a health research institute, and Princeton University, had suggested that the demand for ventilators in India could rise to 10 lakh by July, against a current availability of 30,000-50,000 ventilators.
The ministry announced that a healthcare company in Noida — Agva Healthcare — had been given an order to manufacture 10,000 ventilators within a month.
#IndiaFightsCorona:#CoronaVirusUpdates
Agva Healthcare, Noida has been given an order to manufacture 10,000 #ventilators within a month. Their supplies are expected to commence in the 2nd week of April.#SwasthaBharat#HealthForAll
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 30, 2020
According to a news report by Business Today Saturday, Maruti Suzuki has tied up with Agva Healthcare to produce 10,000 ventilators in a month to bridge the shortfall of the life-saving medical device in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
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