ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday said that the first batch of ventilators manufactured in Pakistan would be delivered to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in coming week.

In a video statement, he said that Pakistan has joined the ranks of those few countries which are producing their own ventilators.

"The ventilator is a complicated machine and not a lot of countries in the world have the capacity to make this," he added.

He expressed optimism that the country would be able to meet its own need for ventilators and would also be able to export the equipment.

"When the first Covid-19 case was recorded in February 26, we were not producing anything. Within a few months, we have become capable of producing our own equipment," he said.

He congratulated Pakistan Engineering Council, National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), scientists and technicians for their efforts in making it all possible.

Chaudhry also tweeted earlier in the day, announcing that eight to 10 ventilators manufactured in the first batch will be delivered to the NDMA.

He said the next three designs are also in their final stages, after which Pakistan will be among the few countries in the world that manufacture complex medical machines, in accordance with European Union (EU) standards.

Meanwhile, in a tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan took pride in his team for being among the first to enforce smart lockdown in the country.

Sharing a Bloomberg opinion piece on smart lockdown being the future of Europe, on Twitter, the premier said he was proud of his team for helping him navigate through the Covid-19 crisis in the country.

PM Khan said that if Pakistan continued to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), the country will successfully tackle the crisis.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020