Iranian customs authorities have taken delivery of nearly 2,000 ventilators devices as the country scrambles for vital equipment needed to treat coronavirus patients.
A deputy head of Iran’s customs department said on Sunday that some 954 ventilators had been cleared to leave a local office of the body in the northern province of Qazvin earlier in the day.
Mehrdad Jamali said that another 1,000 breathing machines would be discharged from customs office in the northern coast city of Bandar Anzali later on Sunday.
Iran needs the life-saving ventilators amid nationwide efforts to curb the number of deaths that could be caused by coronavirus.
A total of 724 people have died of the respiratory virus since it started to break out in Iran on February 19. That comes as some 4,590 patients out of a total of 13,938 have recovered from the illness.
Ventilators are desperately needed to help coronavirus patients whose lungs have been filled with fluid as a result of the infection.
However, reports have suggested that like many other countries grappling with the spread of the new coronavirus, there is a significant discrepancy between available ventilators and the need in the hospitals in Iran.
That comes as Iran’s access to vital equipment needed to treat coronavirus patients has been hampered by US sanctions.
To offset the impacts of the illegal sanctions, the government has ordered a ramp-up of productions for protective gears like face masks and disinfectants by domestic manufacturers.
Several Iranian manufacturers of medical equipment have decided to switch parts of their productions to the making of the medical ventilators as the government has given them assurances that it would buy all the machines.