New Delhi: France handed over Tuesday to India ventilators, test kits and other medical equipment. This came as a part of France’s assistance to India in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The medical equipment was handed over to the Indian Red Cross Society by French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain at the Palam Air Force Station. The assistance material was flown here on board a French Air Force aircraft.
“Delighted to hand over COVID-19 medical equipment from France to Shri RK Jain, Secy General @IndianRedCross,” Lenain tweeted along with pictures of the handover.
“France earlier granted 200 million euros in financial aid to India through @AFD_en (French development agency). With @IFCCI1 CSR committee, French companies, too, have contributed to relief efforts in India,” he said.
See link: https://twitter.com/FranceinIndia/status/1288084400442241025/photo/1
Indian government sources said France has now provided medical equipment and expertise to India for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and it is a happy coincidence that this equipment has arrived at the same time as the Rafale jets are supposed to land.
The material being provided by France includes 50 Osiris 3 ventilators, 70 Yuwell 830 ventilators with BiPAP mode, 50,000 serological tests (IgM/IgG Duo test kits by Biosensor) and 50,000 nose and throat swabs, the sources said.
Osiris ventilators are particularly useful for emergency transport, intra-hospital transfer and recovery. They have different ventilation modes, including non-invasive ventilation.
The Yuwell 830 ventilators have bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) — a non-invasive technique to supply oxygen to the lungs without intubation. These high-quality ventilators meet the needs of Indian hospitals, the French embassy had said earlier.
The ventilators and test kits are being received by the Indian Red Cross Society and ICMR, respectively, the Indian government sources said.
The India-France partnership will be even more crucial in the post-pandemic scenario including in the domain of humanitarian assistance, the sources said.