Govt assures medical equipment supplies as Covid cases cross 35,000

Seven firms to ramp up manufacturing to meet June ventilator target of 75,000 units; order for oxygen supplies made to local companies

India has assured supply of all necessary medical equipment to battle Covid-19, pharma secretary P D Vaghela said on Friday, as the country registered 77 deaths in a single day taking the toll to 1,152. The number of confirmed cases climbed to 35,365, with reports of 1,755 new patients.
 

Vaghela, who heads the empowered group for essential medical supply, said there is a big surge in global demand for ventilators, PPEs, masks, oxygen cylinders, and test kits.
 

“India was largely an importer of these items... Our strategy has been to use this as an opportunity to develop our own technology