San Francisco: US automaker Ford has said it will make 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days, starting April 2, at its Rawsonville plant in Michigan in the US to meet the critical demand.
Ford has partnered with GE Healthcare to produce a simplified type of ventilator titled “GE/Airon Model A-E”.
“The Ford and GE Healthcare teams, working creatively and tirelessly, have found a way to produce this vitally needed ventilator quickly and in meaningful numbers,” Jim Hackett, Ford’s president and CEO said in a statement on Tuesday.
“By producing this ventilator in Michigan, in strong partnership with the UAW, we can help health care workers save lives, and that’s our No. 1 priority,” Hackett added.
Ford looks to produce 1,500 ventilators by the end of April, 12,000 by the end of May and 50,000 by July 4.
In a statement, White House Defense Production Act Coordinator Peter Navarro said Ford and GE are moving to speed urgently needed ventilators to the front lines of the Trump Administration’s full-scale war against the coronavirus.
The number of deaths reached 3,899 on Tuesday night in the US, exceeding the 2,977 toll of the terrorist attack on the US on 9/11.
The number of confirmed cases in the US was 188,547.
