Combating COVID-19: Health Ministry orders PSU to provide ventilators

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday said that it has given an order to a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to provide 10,000 ventilators in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

"We have given an order to a PSU to provide 10,000 ventilators. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also been requested to purchase 30,000 additional ventilators in 1-2 months," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry.

Aggarwal said that companies are asking their employees to work from home.

"A total of 1.4 lakh companies have asked their employees to work from home on our appeal," he said.

Aggarwal further said that the Health Ministry has issued national telemedicine guidelines.

"We have issued national telemedicine guidelines. This facilitates the process wherein doctors sitting at their homes can provide services to the patients. We urge and request citizens to take advantage of it & doctors to utilize this" he said.

Union Home Ministry's Joint Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava said that all States and Union Territories (UTs) have been requested to take immediate steps to provide adequate support, including food and shelter, to migrant agricultural labourers, industrial workers and other unorganised sector workers during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

"States and Union Territories have been requested to make arrangements for food, water and sanitation for the migrant labourers. Hotels and rented accommodation should stay open and functional while taking all the COVID-19 precautions," she said.

A total of 724 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease.