US Ambassador to India hands over ventilators at Indian Red Cross headquarters.

New Delhi:

US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster today handed over the first lot of 100 ventilators from US Agency for International Development (USAID) to New Delhi at the Indian Red Cross Headquarters.

The ventilators were handed over to India to treat coronavirus patients as promised by US President Donald Trump last month.

The first lot of ventilators, which arrived on Monday from Chicago, have been manufactured by Zoll, a US-based firm.

A senior government official told news agency ANI: “On Monday, about 100 ventilators arrived from the United States as a donation. Ventilators would come to India by Air India flight. This is entirely managed by the India Red Cross Society.”

“There is a small inaugural function at IRCS after which these ventilators would be distributed to hospital for patient care,” the official said.

Ventilators have emerged as a key medical device to treat critical coronavirus patients.

On May 16, US President Trump had tweeted: “I am proud to announce that the United States will donate ventilators to our friends in India. We stand with India and PM Narendra Modi during this pandemic. We’re also cooperating on vaccine development. Together we will beat the invisible enemy!”

PM Modi then thanked Donald Trump in a tweet and highlighted the India-US relationship. “In such times, it’s always important for nations to work together and do as much as possible to make our world healthier and free from Covid-19.”