COVID-19: As fatality rate dips, Centre decides to permit exports of ventilators

The Centre has decided to permit the export of made-in-India ventilators amid a decline in the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) among Coronavirus cases in the country. The export prohibition/restriction on all types of ventilators was imposed in March 2020 to ensure domestic availability to effectively fight COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new Coronavirus.

In a statement on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said the Group of Ministers (GOM) on COVID-19, India's top panel for the pandemic response, has considered and agreed to its proposal allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators on the heels of India continuing to maintain a progressively declining low rate of case fatality of COVID-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15%. 

A low fatality rate means that fewer numbers of active COVID-19 cases are on ventilators. As per government data, only 0.22% of the active cases were on ventilators across India as on July 31. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the domestic manufacturing capacity of ventilators. Compared to January 2020, there are presently more than 20 domestic manufacturers for ventilators.

The GOM's decision has been communicated to the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to give a formal nod to allow the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators.

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Health infra well placed say Govt, cases on the rise

The government has affirmed that domestic health infrastructure is well placed to handle the pandemic even as India reports record daily spikes in new Coronavirus cases. 

As on Saturday, there are 1,488 dedicated COVID Hospitals with 2,49,358 isolation beds, 31,639 ICU beds and 1,09,119 oxygen supported beds and 16,678 ventilators.

3,231 dedicated COVID Health Centres with 2,07,239 isolation beds, 18,613 ICU beds and 74,130 oxygen supported beds and 6,668 ventilators have also been operationalised.

Moreover, 10,755 COVID Care Centres with 10,02,681 beds are now available to combat COVID-19 in the country. The Centre has also provided 273.85 lakh N95 masks and 121.5 lakh Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and 1083.77 lakh HCQ tablets to the States/UTs /Central Institutions.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India surpassed 17 lakh Saturday evening while the number of recoveries soared past 11 lakh. The recovery rate stands at 64.53%. Over 36,000 patients have died thus far.

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