PIB News Update: Supply lines from abroad opened up today with the receipt of 1.70 lakh Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) coveralls from China which have been donated to the Government of India. Along with domestic supplies of 20,000 coveralls, a total of 1.90 lakh coveralls will now be distributed to hospitals and will add to the 3,87,473 PPEs already available in the country as of now. A total of 2.94 lakh PPE coveralls have been arranged and supplied by Government of India now.
In addition to this, 2 lakh domestically produced N95 masks are also being sent to various hospitals. Including these, over 20 lakh N95 masks have been supplied by Government of India. About 16 lakh N95 masks are presently available in the country, and this figure will increase with the fresh supply of 2 lakh masks.
Major portions of the fresh supplies are being sent to States with comparatively higher number of cases such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan. Supplies are also being sent to central institutions like AIIMS, Safdarjung and RML hospitals, RIMS, NEIGRIHMS, BHU and AMU.
The commencement of foreign supplies marks a major milestone in our efforts to procure personal protection equipment for the battle against COVID-19. An order for 80 lakh complete PPE kits (including N95 masks) had been placed on a Singapore based platform earlier and now it has been indicated that supplies will commence from 11th April, 2020 with 2 lakh, followed by 8 lakh more in a week. Negotiations are in final stages with a Chinese platform for placing an order of 60 lakh complete PPE kits, which will also include N95 masks. Separate orders for N95 masks and protective goggles are also being placed on some foreign companies.
Giving a further fillip to domestic capabilities, Northern Railways have developed a PPE coverall. This is in addition to the PPE coveralls and N99 masks developed by DRDO earlier. Efforts are now being made to start mass production of these products. Existing N95 mask producers have increased their capacity to about 80,000 masks per day.
Orders have been placed for 112.76 lakhs stand alone N95 masks and 157.32 lakhs PPE coveralls. Out of these, 80 lakh PPE kits will include N95 masks. The objective is to achieve a supply of about 10 lakh PPE kits per week. Looking at the number of patients in the country, sufficient quantities are available for the moment. Further supplies are expected within this week.
Government of India is taking several steps along with the States/UTs for the prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 in the country. These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.
Cabinet Secretary has been interacting through Video Conference with various District officials at the cutting edge levels to ensure uniformity of response across all parts of state. All districts have been advised to have a District level Crisis Management Plan for COVID-19.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has issued detailed Guidelines for setting up of quarantine facilities for COVID-19 outbreak. This Guidelines focus on separating suspected and high-risk contacts as early as possible from among other quarantined persons. The Guidelines may be accessed at:
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/90542653311584546120quartineguidelines.pdf
The Ministry has also issued Guidelines for Handling, Treatment, and Disposal of Waste Generated during Treatment/Diagnosis/ Quarantine of COVID-19 patients which are available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/63948609501585568987wastesguidelines.pdf. Additionally, few informative videos for managing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak are also posted on the website of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
The States have already been advised to use funds under National Health Mission (NHM) and State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to undertake all activities related with creation of quarantine centres, dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and other medical equipment, treatment of patients and all other activities related with management of COVID-19. In addition to this, NHM has already sanctioned Rs. 1100 Cr to all the States & Rs. 3000 Cr additional funds were released today. Also, N-95 masks, Ventilators and PPEs are being procured from the central pool and distributed to all the States across the country.
As of now, 4067 confirmed cases and 109 deaths have been reported. 291 persons have been cured/discharged after recovery.
As per the presently available data, an analysis of total confirmed cases has presented the following distribution:
- Gender distribution:
- 76% are male
- 24% are female
- Age distribution:
- 47% people – below 40 years age group
- 34% people – between 40 to 60 years age group
- 19% people – 60 and above age group
Following observations are made while analysing the reported 109 deaths due to COVID-19:
- Gender distribution:
- 73% are male
- 27% are female
- Age distribution:
- 63% deaths reported for elderly people (60 and above)
- 30% deaths reported for people between 40 to 60 years
- 7% deaths reported for people below 40 years
As of now, 86% death cases have exhibited comorbidity related to diabetes, chronic kidney issues, hypertension and heart related problems. Although 19% confirmed cases have been reported among the elderly, since 63% deaths have been observed among them, elderly people form a high risk population. Further, though 37% deaths are reported from people below 60 years, approximately, 86% of deaths amongst people with co-morbidities indicate that young people with co-morbidities are also at high risk of COVID-19.
For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/.
Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be emailed at [email protected] and other queries on [email protected] .In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no. : +91-11-23978046 or 1075 (Toll-free). List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .
