US Hands Over 100 Ventilators To India To Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

The US on Wednesday, August 19, handed over 100 ventilators to India. This comes after the US President Donald Trump offered assistance to New Delhi in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

"The ventilators are manufactured in the US and are compact, easy to deploy and provide India with flexibility in treating patients affected by the virus," the US embassy said in a statement.

Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US government in coordination with the Indian government and the Indian Red Cross Society donated the second shipment of 100 new, state-of-the-art ventilators to India to help fight the country against the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said.

"We are very pleased to hand over the final tranche of 100 ventilators to India, fulfilling President Trump's commitment to providing these critically needed supplies to support India's pandemic response," NDTV quoted US Ambassador Kenneth Juster as saying.

The statement further said that USAID is funding a package of support that includes warranties and additional supplies -- USAID is funding a package of support that includes warranties and additional supplies -- required to operate these machines.

The statement said that USAID is closely working with the Indian government to assist in setup, orientations and clinical training for health care providers responsible for operating the machines.

The first shipment of 100 ventilators arrived in India on June 14, following which the machines were deployed to support coronavirus patients at the eight regional All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

"The total donation of 200 ventilators builds on the long history of US-India collaboration in the health sector and the assistance that USAID has committed to India in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement said

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