'Fourth Pakistani company granted license to produce ventilators'

Information minister expresses hope Pakistan will begin exporting vents this year

ISLAMABAD:

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry informed on Tuesday that a fourth Pakistani company has been granted the license to produce ventilators due to the efforts of the science ministry during the Covid outbreak.

"Due to the work achieved at the health ministry during Covid, a fourth company has received the license to produce ventilators," Fawad said on Twitter.

"I'm strongly hopeful that Pakistan will begin exporting ventilators this year," he added.

The minister further said that a health centre was established in Faisalabad and added, "The country will begin producing auto disposable syringes from September."

الحمداللہ سائنس منسٹری میں COVID کے دوران جو کام ہوا اس کے نتیجے میں چوتھی کمپنی کو بھی Ventillators بنانے کا لائسنس مل گیا ہے، اس سال مجھے پوری امید ہے کہ ہم ventsایکسپورٹ کرنا شروع کر دیں گے، فیصل آبادمیں ہیلتھ سٹی بنایا تھاستمبر میں Auto disposable سرنج بنانا شروع ہوں گے

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 20, 2021

The move comes as the country battles a fourth Covid wave, with the Delta variant taking its toll on the health system.

Pakistan reported 2,145 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 993,872.

Read Now the fourth wave

The country's death toll climbed to 22,848 after 37 more people succumbed to the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, 1029 patients recovered from the deadly disease in a day taking total recoveries to 921,095.

According to the NCOC, the total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be 49,929.

A day earlier, a sharp spike in infections overwhelmed major hospitals in Karachi. The positivity ratio soared past 20 per cent in less than a week and the city’s hospitals are struggling to accommodate patients.

According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the positivity ratio hit 25 per cent on Monday.

On the same day, in Peshawar, top three hospitals were put on high alert after they reported over 20 coronavirus cases over the last few days.

Similarly, 76 new coronavirus cases emerged in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, taking the tally to 22,192.