1000 Victorian ICU ventilators headed for India1000 Victorian ICU ventilators headed for India

While the COVID tsunami in India seems to be raging unabated, help from all over the world is flowing in. The Andrews Labor Government has worked out a package of help worth $41 million to assist India in its fight to control the virus.

“The situation in India right now is devastating and shows that the fight against this pandemic is not over – we have a responsibility to help where we can and that’s exactly what we’re doing”, Acting Premier James Merlino said.

The state government has offered to donate 1,000 ICU ventilators and supporting equipment to India to assist with efforts to respond to a devastating second wave of coronavirus.

The donation will be made to the Commonwealth medical stockpile and the state officials are working with DFAT to deliver this support to India as the country works to manage a second wave of coronavirus and treat those infected.

The 1000 ICU Ventilators are currently owned by the Department of Health and will be donated to India for humanitarian purposes.

The state government says the donation will not affect Victorian health services – the ventilators have been sourced from the centralised State Supply Chain and are currently stored in a warehouse that has a stock of over 4,000.

Thanks to strong stocks here in Victoria we are able to offer these ventilators to India and provide crucial support to thousands of people in India who are currently in desperate need” Minister for Health Martin Foley said.

In addition to the ventilators the Labor Government is preparing to send a range of supporting equipment like connectors and humidifiers, with the total package valued at over $41 million.

“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this unfolding tragedy and we hope this package will go some way to addressing the challenges India is facing right now”, Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ros Spence said.

With abysmally short on health infrastructure, 1000 ICU ventilators will come in very handy for some Indian hospitals.

There are 3,566,398 active cases in India today. More than 230,000 people have died of the virus according to the Ministry of Health India.