Supply lines from abroad opened up on Monday with the receipt of 1.70 lakh Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) coveralls donated from China, the Union Health Ministry said.
“Along with domestic supplies of 20,000 coveralls, a total of 1.90 lakh coveralls will now be distributed to hospitals and will add to the 3,87,473 PPEs already available in the country as of now. A total of 2.94 lakh PPE coveralls have been arranged and supplied so far,” the Ministry said.
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The Health Ministry noted that in addition, two lakh domestically produced N95 masks are also being sent to various hospitals.
A major part of the fresh protective equipment is being sent to States with comparatively higher number of cases including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan. Supplies are also being sent to central institutions like AIIMS, Safdarjung and RML hospitals etc.
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“The commencement of foreign supplies marks a major milestone in our efforts to procure personal protection equipment for the battle against COVID-19. An order for 80 lakh complete PPE kits (including N95 masks) had been placed on a Singapore based platform earlier and now it has been indicated that supplies will commence from April 11, 2020 with two lakh, followed by eight lakh more in a week,” said the Ministry.
It added that negotiations are in final stages with a Chinese platform for placing an order of 60 lakh complete PPE kits, which will also include N95 masks. Separate orders for N95 masks and protective goggles are also being placed on some foreign companies.
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“Northern Railways have developed a PPE coverall and this is in addition to the PPE coveralls and N99 masks developed by DRDO earlier. Efforts are now being made to start mass production of these products. Existing N95 mask producers have increased their capacity to about 80,000 masks per day,” the Ministry said.
Orders have also been placed for 112.76 lakh stand alone N95 masks and 157.32 lakh PPE coveralls. Out of these, 80 lakh PPE kits will include N95 masks.
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“The objective is to achieve a supply of about 10 lakh PPE kits per week. Looking at the number of patients in the country, sufficient quantities are available for the moment. Further supplies are expected within this week,” the Ministry release said.
