MP manufacturing 12,000 PPE kits every day: Official

Madhya Pradesh is manufacturing 12,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits per day for frontline warriors battling COVID-19, as against its daily requirement of 10,000 kits, a government official has said.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, 1.5 lakh PPE kits have so far been manufactured in the state and out of these, about 75,000 each have been sent to Indore and Bhopal, State Industrial Development Centres Managing Director Kumar Purushottam said.

“Madhya Pradesh needs 10,000 PPE kits per day, whereas the state is producing 12,000 kits every day,” Kumar said in a release, adding that the state has surplus stock of PPE kits for the corona warriors.

“About 40,000 kits are available in stock in Bhopal and Indore and are being sent to various districts as per requirements,” he said. “A large numbers of donors are also coming forward to supply PPE kits in Indore,” he added.

During a video conference with office-bearers of the Indian Medical Association on Saturday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the production of PPE kits in the state was started after an approval from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The state government has also started preparations to provide masks to people at reasonable rates. It has begun registration of women who are interested in stitching cotton cloth masks in the state, a public relations department official said.

On the first day of registration on Sunday, 4,200 women registered themselves for the task, the official said. The state government will purchase masks made by these women at Rs 11 per piece and make them available to people at a reasonable rate, the official added.

Till Sunday evening, Madhya Pradesh reported 2,090 COVID-19 cases and 103 deaths. So far, 302 patients have recovered from the disease and returned home, as per official figures.