Shutterstock
Ford Motor Company is teaming up with GE Healthcare to manufacture 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days to help patients who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus during the ongoing pandemic, according to a statement from the company on social media.
“Starting in April, we’re producing a ventilator with @GEHealthcare, leveraging the design of @AironCorp ’s FDA-cleared ventilator,” the company wrote on Twitter. “It’s designed to operate on air pressure without electricity, making it a versatile solution to help those fighting #COVID19.”
Ford will begin production of the ventilators starting in April at one of its Michigan plants.
The statement continued: “Production of the ventilator will start in April, targeting 50,000 units in the next 100 days at our Rawsonville Components Plant in Michigan. This is the second Ford- @GEHealthcare ventilator collaboration, helping to meet demand around the U.S. in the fight against #COVID19.”
Peter Navarro, the White House’s Defense Production Act coordinator, praised Ford for stepping up to help out during the pandemic.
“Just as Ford in the last century moved its manufacturing might seamlessly from auto to tank production during World War II, the Ford team is working with GE Healthcare to use its awesome engineering and manufacturing capabilities to voluntarily help this nation solve one of its most pressing problems,” Navarro said in a statement.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 3,000 deaths in the United States which surpasses the death toll of the September 11 terrorist in New York City — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
