Lakhs of coveralls, masks, thousands of ventilators — govt says key Covid-19 gear on its way
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Health

Lakhs of coveralls, masks, thousands of ventilators — govt says key Covid-19 gear on its way

The Modi govt’s assurance came amid reports that medical staff tackling coronavirus cases were ill-equipped to handle the pandemic.

Revathi Krishnan    
Doctors screening a patient | ANI

Doctors screening a patient for Covid-19 | Representational image | ANI

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

 

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.

Also Read: 6,000 quarantined, 28 lakh people checked — inside Bhilwara, Rajasthan’s Covid-19 ground zero