'Pakistan within three weeks to start manufacturing its own ventilators'

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry Monday announced that Pakistan within three weeks would start manufacturing its own Ventilators to increase testing capacity for Coronavirus.

Talking to the private news channel, Fawad hoped that today after getting the approval of the Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Pakistan will start locally its own testing kits and ventilators manufacturing to save the lives of many critically ill coronavirus patients.

He said we will successfully make the ventilators in the country, which is the much needed medical equipment for the hospitals amid the coronavirus epidemic.

Steps have already been taken to manufacture the test kits and ventilators locally, he added. Fawad Chaudhry added that earlier only test kits were made by China and other countries.

High costs, manufacturing countries’ inability to fulfill export demands due to their own local demands, among other reasons, have made import of the equipment even more difficult even in America so after the manufacturing of local Ventilators we will get cheap rate testing facilities in our own country, he added.

To improve the testing capacity, NDMA, the federal government and provisional governments are working in close collaboration to increase the existing number of coronavirus testing labs and its capacity.

He said the Coronavirus cases surged in the U.S. and Europe as compared to South Asian countries where corona patients are less affected.

Fawad said Pakistan will also be part of world research on Coronavirus where we will soon launch a research paper as well.

He said the federal government took major steps for overcoming the shortage of ventilators and testing kits for screening and detection of coronavirus.

The indigenous ventilators will be far cheaper than those being imported from abroad, the minister added.

He said that the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) was given this task to overcome the shortage of ventilators in the prevailing health crisis due to the increasing number of Coronavirus patients in the country.

Replying a Query about increasing stressed among Public related to coronavirus, he urged people to strictly follow social distancing and self-quarantine as the country is facing major threats due to the coronavirus.

He suggested that people promote the habit of reading books at home during the corona lockdowns.

He urged the media to focus on educating people, as it is the collective responsibility of all citizens.

The government is also working on an economic package to support the people, industry and the country’s economy from the negative effects of the pandemic, he added.