France to donate 120 ventilators, 50k kits

nNEW DELHI France on Monday announced it will provide India with 120 ventilators and 50,000 test kits to counter the Covid-19 pandemic. The move coincided with the first five of 36 Rafale combat jets, ordered by New Delhi, flying out from a French airbase for the country.

A team of French personnel, who are experts in inter-hospital transfers by military means, is also being sent to India. A French Air Force aircraft will fly in the equipment and personnel on Tuesday.

The Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft is equipped with a “Morpheus” kit that enables the transport of critically-ill patients.

The donation of the equipment and provision of technical expertise

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is in line with a recent announcement by President Emmanuel Macron, the French embassy said in a statement.

The medical assistance package includes 50 Osiris-3 ventilators, which are portable and easy to use, and 70 Yuwell 830 ventilators with “bilevel positive airway pressure” (BIPAP mode), which are non-invasive hospital ventilators for mild Covid-19 patients.

France will also donate 50,000 high-quality serological IGG/IGM test kits and 50,000 nose and throat swabs and modes of medical transport.

“As longstanding strategic partners, France and India are working together closely on the international response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as providing reciprocal assistance according to the needs of the two countries,” the statement said.