The device is due to be ready by early April, CNN reported, citing a spokesperson for the Dyson company.
By RACHEL WOLF, REUTERSFILE PHOTO: A Dyson logo is seen on one of company's products presented during an event in Beijing, China September 12, 2018(photo credit: REUTERS/DAMIR SAGOLJ/FILE PHOTO)
James Dyson, founder of the Dyson Company, confirmed to employees that the UK government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from his company.“This is clearly a time of grave international crisis, I will therefore donate 5,000 units to the international effort, 1,000 of which will go to the United Kingdom,” Dyson wrote in the internal email obtained by multiple media outlets.The new ventilator, called “CoVent” was allegedly invented 10 days after Dyson received a call from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The company founder added that the ventilator was designed to "address the specific needs" of coronavirus patients.Britain had been in talks with over 3,000 businesses about supplying ventilators to quickly increase the health service's capacity, Johnson's spokesman said earlier on Wednesday. But he stressed that any design would need regulatory approval.The country's existing stock of about 5,000-8,000 ventilators is inadequate if cases jump as predicted. The number of coronavirus deaths in Britain rose by 41 to 465 on Wednesday."This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently and at volume," said Dyson, according to CNN. The device is due to be ready by early April, CNN reported, citing a spokesperson for the company.Dyson is best known for its vacuums and hand dryers.Separately, British engineer Babcock International Group Plc said it had joined forces with a leading medical equipment company to design and supply thousands of critical care ventilators.A number of other firms had joined forces to develop and manufacture a ventilator, including Airbus, Smiths Group Plc, Ford Motor Co and McLaren.Advertisement
