USG Delivers 189 More Life-Saving Ventilators to El Salvador for the COVID-19 Response
Sept. 1, 2020
The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sent today a third donation of 189 portable ventilators in support of El Salvador’s response to COVID-19.
The ventilators, which arrived today, are part of the 192 ventilators that were recovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) after they were stolen in Miami, Florida, on or about August 8.
The authorities inspected each of the ventilators prior to sending them to El Salvador. After the inspection, three ventilators were deemed damaged and will be replaced and sent to El Salvador as soon as possible.
To date, with this third shipment, the U.S. has donated 597 ventilators valued at $7.9 million. The first shipment of 250 ventilators arrived on May 21 and a second shipment of 158 arrived on Aug. 22. With the delivery of the three remaining ventilators, the government of the United States will complete its promise of providing a total donation of 600 ventilators to help save lives in El Salvador.
The ventilators, produced in the United States, are highly specialized, state-of the art medical equipment that are used in hospitals and other medical facilities to help support patients who are having trouble breathing. These devices will help El Salvador in treating patients with advanced COVID-19 symptoms throughout the country.
El Salvador was one of the first countries worldwide to receive ventilators from the United States, and the delivery represents a fulfilment of a commitment made by President Trump to President Nayib Bukele in a phone conversation on April 24.
As a key partner to El Salvador, the United States has delivered more than 200,000 donations of food and hygiene kits, bedding, disinfectant gel and protective and sanitation equipment for people in quarantine and hospitals, and for those who protect the safety and health of the population. To date, the U.S. Government has provided over $21.6 million to El Salvador to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
