South Africa hopes to build 10 000 ventilators by end June – and up to 50 000 more if needed (7th April 2020)
- South Africa’s National Ventilator Project is now evaluating submissions from those who can help it get going on manufacturing devices before the end of April.
- The project’s target is to build 10 000 ventilators before the end of June, with the capacity to manufacture up to 50 000 more if needed for export, using only components readily available in SA, or made locally.
- It is aiming for a simple, non-invasive system that helps patients get oxygen by delivering it at higher than ambient pressure, which can hopefully help in the majority of Covid-19 cases.
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The design of SA’s first ventilator for mass production is expected within days (14th April 2020)
- The National Ventilator Project, a joint initiative between government and business, aims to build 10,000 non-invasive ventilators in SA factories by the end of June.
- The ventilators will be built according to a standard single design, which should be signed off this week.
- The design is expected to be quite simple, and may not use electricity.
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https://www.businessinsider.co.za/south-africa-ventilators-2020-4
South Africa’s top scientists have been put in charge of manufacturing 10,000 ventilators by June (9th April 2020)
- The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory will manage the development and production of 10,000 ventilators by the end of June, in line with government’s National Ventilator Project.
- The country only has 6,000 ventilators, and officials worry that this will not be enough to cope with the expected spike in severe Covid-19 patients, many of whom will require assisted breathing
- The team, which headed up South Africa’s successful bid to host the world’s largest radio telescope and built the country’s 64-dish MeerKAT, is “amongst the best system engineers and system integrators in the country.”