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The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has produced mechanical ventilators using locally sourced materials with a view to contributing to the fight against COVID-19.
Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, who disclosed this while briefing journalists in Abuja, said the ventilators were produced in an effort to provide local solutions to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enenche said DICON has also supported medical workers by producing thousands of high-quality non-permeable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, adding that each unit of the kits consists of standardised gowns, face and nose masks.
“DICON engineers, consultants and medical teams have successfully produced a digital mechanical ventilator known as DICOVENT,” he said, adding that the newly designed machine was a simple mechanical ventilator that could deliver positive pressured ventilation using a volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) system.
Director General of DICON, Major General Victor Okwudili Ezugwu, noted that the organisation was working to mass-produce the ventilators, saying, “The goal is to meet rising national demand for ventilators.”
Also, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has commenced production and distribution of customised face masks for its personnel across the country.
This development came in response to recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to procure and distribute face masks to their workers to help curb spread of the virus.
Consequently, Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, directed the corps to commence immediate production and distribution of face masks for its officers nationwide due to their role in the enforcement of the national restriction order.
A statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, noted that FRSC personnel always interface with different categories of people and as such deserve to adopt all precautionary measures, especially constant use of face masks, while discharging their duties.
