IT Correspondent
New Delhi, July 29:
French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain handed over ventilators, test kits and other medical equipments to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) as part of its assistance in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Palam Air Force Station, New Delhi, after the assistance material was flown here on board a French Air Force aircraft, on Tuesday.
“Delighted to hand over COVID-19 medical equipment from France to IRCS Secretary RK Jain, Lenain tweeted along with pictures of the handover. France earlier has granted 200 million euros in financial aid to India through AFD, a French development agency. French companies, too, have contributed to relief efforts in India,” he said.
President Emmanuel Macron had recently announced the donation of medical equipment to India, as well as provision of technical expertise, according to a statement by the French embassy.
The material being provided by France includes 50 pieces of Osiris 3 ventilators, 70 pieces of 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 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 embassy said.
While the ventilators were handed over to IRCS, the test kits will be received by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). France has sent India crucial medical equipment supplies around the same time the Rafale jets are set to arrive.
In the meanwhile , India and Israel have kickstarted an anti-coronavirus cooperative operation led by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India’s Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Health. A special flight from Tel Aviv landed in New Delhi, carrying a high-level Israeli delegation which has been working with India’s chief scientist and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop rapid testing kits for coronavirus which can give the result within seconds.
Dozens of sophisticated ventilators also arrived on board the special flight. Apart from mechanical ventilators, that were brought by special permission from Israel for India, the Israeli team has also brought along hi-tech artificial intelligence respirators that will be given as grant to AIIMS, Delhi.
The unique cooperation between Israel and India will enable the Israeli delegation to collect tens of thousands of samples in only 10 days, and to analyse them using computer systems based on artificial intelligence, a statement issued by Israel’s defence and foreign affairs ministries said.
Israel’s Ambassador to India Ron Malka said if the testing kit is developed, it could be a “game-changer” in the battle against coronavirus. The Israeli defence ministry research and development team has been working with India’s chief scientist K Vijay Raghavan and DRDO to develop rapid testing for coronavirus in less than 30 seconds, the Israeli Embassy said.
