Congress demands sacking of minister over export of masks, ventilators

New Delhi : Amid scarcity of medical equipment and protective gear for health workers, the Congress has demanded sacking of Union Commerce Minister and Commerce Secretary for allowing export of ventilators, surgical and face masks, raw Material for masks/coveralls till March 19.

"This is criminal as our doctors, nurses and patients are facing acute scarcity," said chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

"Should you (the PM) not sack Union Commerce Minister & Commerce Secretary for permitting exports of ventilators and other raw material?" asked Surjewala.

Earlier the party objected to permission to companies to export masks and ventilators alleging that these were allowed till March 19.

Surjewala termed it as a "criminal conspiracy". "Why was it allowed when the country is facing shortage of such items?" asked Sujewala.

The party attached the notification issued on March 19 by the Director General of Foreign Trade. The Congress alleged the government acted when COVID-19 positive cases started rising.

The Congress demanded that personal protection equipment (PPEs), such as special masks, gloves, face shields, goggles, head covers, rubber boots and disposable gowns be made available to the health workers to protect them against coronavirus infection.

Only 30,000 ventilators are available for 135 crore population, he said, adding these should be arranged in adequate number. About 95 per cent of ventilators were already under use for patients suffering from other diseases, he added.

The Karnataka government on Monday decided to purchase 1,000 ventilators from medical devices company Skanray Technologies and five lakh Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), amid rising COVID-19 cases.

Health Minister B Sriramulu convened a meeting with officials to review the situation in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, and with the Mysuru-based firm through a video conference.

The Indian Council of Medical Research on Monday expedited approvals for manufacturing of domestic commercial testing kits.

"We are fast tracking approval for kit manufacturers. We want to clarify that those kits that are not approved by USFDA or European CE will be approved by ICMR-National Institute of Virology," said Dr.Balram Bhargava, Director-General, ICMR.