Centre allots 364 additional ventilators to Bihar

PATNA: The Centre has dispatched another lot of 364 ventilators to Bihar in the wake of recent surge in Covid-19 positive cases across the state.
“The fresh lot of ventilators will reach the state in the next two to three days,” Union minister of state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey told TOI over phone on Wednesday after holding a meeting with officials in Delhi to review the status of supply of medical equipment to different states.
“Bihar has been sanctioned altogether 500 ventilators, of which the first lot of 100 ventilators was sent almost a month ago. With the second lot, 464 ventilators have been allotted to the state. Besides, the Centre has also allotted altogether 6.77 lakh N-95 masks, 4.7 lakh PPE kits and 29 lakh tablets of hydroxychloroquine to the Bihar government till date,” Pankaj Mishra, media adviser to Choubey said.
Apart from all this, the AIIMS-Patna has been allotted another 30 ventilators for being a government public medical college.
During the review meeting, Choubey asked the officials concerned to remain in touch with the health department officials of Bihar and ensure regular supply of necessary medicines and equipment after reviewing the situation in the state.
Earlier in the day, the minister spoke to several peoples’ representatives and local leaders of Bhagalpur, his constituency Buxar, Patna and Muzaffarpur and took stock of the Covid-19 scenario in their areas.
Mishra said, “Altogether 21,000 ventilators have been dispatched to different states as per their requirements so far. Of these, 500 have been sanctioned for Bihar. If required, more ventilators will be sent.”