India Orders 10 Lakh Personal Protective Equipment Kits From Singapore as Number of Coronavirus Cases Rise, Domestic Firms Asked to Manufacture 40,000 Ventilators
Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare on Monday informed that they have ordered 10 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) kits through External Affairs Ministry on a Singapore based platform and supplies will commence soon. It also said gave order for 40,000 ventilators to domestic firms.
New Delhi, March 30: Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare on Monday informed that they have ordered 10 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) kits through External Affairs Ministry on a Singapore based platform and supplies will commence soon. The Health Ministry also stated that 10,000 PPE overalls donated by Red Cross have been received and are being distributed today to combat COVID 19.
Informing about the latest update, the Union Health Ministry said, "Orders for 10 lakh PPE kits have been placed through MEA on a Singapore based platform and supplies are to commence soon. 10,000 PPE coveralls donated by Red Cross have been received and are being distributed today." Coronavirus Death Toll in India Rises to 31 as 62-Year-Old Harbhajan Singh, A Close Contact of Punjab's First COVID-19 Casualty Baldev Singh, Dies in Amritsar.
Apart from this, the Government of India said, "They are supplying 6-7,000 pieces per day and are expected to go up to 15,000 per day by mid-April. One more domestic manufacturer has qualified today and is being given orders for 5 lakh PPE coveralls." The Ministry added that they have 3.34 lakh PPE coveralls available with hospitals in the country, while another 3 lakh donated coveralls are being received from abroad by April 4.
The Health Ministry added that 11 domestic producers of PPE coveralls have qualified so far and orders for 21 lakh have been placed on them. It also said that two domestic manufacturers are producing 50,000 N95 masks per day and its expected to go up to 1 lakh per day within next week. Hospitals in India have 11.95 lakh N95 masks in stocka and additional five lakhs were distributed during last two days, while 1.40 lakhs being distributed today.
The Ministry said that Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will begin the production of N-99 masks for India. It said, "Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will begin manufacturing 20,000 N-99 masks per day within the next week." Also, Agva Healthcare in Noida and Bharat Electronics Ltd. have been given orders to manufacture 10,000 and 30,000 ventilators to fight COVID-19.
Meanwhile, total COVID-19 positive cases jumped to 1071 on Monday, while the death toll rose to 31 in country. In the wake of the rising number of cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 had announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 30, 2020 02:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).