Amid Surge In Number Of Coronavirus Cases, Government To Procure 40,000 New Ventilators In Next Three Months

In a major boost to the nation's battle against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government on Friday (27 March) placed the order for the acquisition of 40,000 new ventilators in the next three months, reports Hindustan Times.

The development comes as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to surge, which could overwhelm the existing healthcare facilities and capacity in the nation, causing a major shortage of ventilators.

Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said that the Ministry has asked a “PSU to make 10,000 ventilators and another 30,000 will come from Bharat Electricals, a PSU under the Defence Ministry,” reports The Hindu.

According to the Health Ministry, the confirmed Covid-19 cases in India have increased to 873 with 19 fatalities recorded so far. As many as 79 patients have recovered so far.

The government has also asked the states to enhance efforts to track down thousands of people who have returned from abroad.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has warned the Chief Secretaries of all states over the big gap in the number of international passengers who should have been monitored, and the actual number of such passengers. He underscored that the gap in this regard could "seriously jeopardise our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19."

The letter written by Gauba to the Chief Secretaries of states highlighted that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs' Bureau of Immigration had already shared details of more than 15 lakh incoming international passengers with the states and UTs for monitoring.