13 tons of COVID-19 assistance from Singapore handed over to Health Ministry

KATHMANDU, May 24: More than 13 tons of medical cargo from Singapore has been brought to Nepal to combat the second wave of COVID-19.

The cargo with a combined estimated value of 3 million Singapore dollars (around Nepali Rs 250 million) was handed over to the Minister of Health and Population Hridayesh Tripathi by Deputy Managing Director of Gorkha Brewery Surendra Silwal on behalf of the two donors. 

According to the donors, the medical supplies include more than 123,000 Fortitude 3.0 PCR tests designed by Singapore’s Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A* Star), 5000 boxes of Citotest swab kits (2,50,000 kits), 2 Magec32 RNA extraction machines, 2500 extraction kits and reagents, 30 Alpha tele-ventilators, 6 Philips Trilogy Evo Ventilators, 50 Yuwell Bi-PAP non-invasive ventilators and 4000 pulse oximeters. A second cargo of additional medical supplies is expected to arrive from Singapore to Nepal in the coming weeks.

The medical supplies were sent to Nepal with donations from Temasek Foundation Singapore, Lotus Life Foundation Singapore and Gorkha Brewery Pvt. Ltd in close collaboration with the Government of Nepal, various ministries, diplomatic missions and Nepali diaspora.