As nations around the world are gearing up to tackle to coronavirus pandemic, several companies are now swapping priorities to help fill up scarcity. In this case, ventilators, which are going to be created not by a medical supply company, but one of the world's biggest automakers -- General Motors.
GM recently announced that it has collaborated with Ventec Life Systems to start producing ventilators for those infected by COVID-19. The automaker itself won't be building the machines, but it will lend its expertise in purchasing, manufacturing, and logistics to Ventec to ramp up production.
GM and Ventecs partnership is part of StopTheSpread.org, a coordinated effort of private companies to fight COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
"We are working closely with Ventec to rapidly scale up production of their critically important respiratory products to support our country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
Ventilators are a life-saving piece of medical apparatus for those hit by the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. The disease primarily attacks the lungs and can cause distress in the respiratory system leading to pneumonia.
Currently, COVID-19 has no proven treatment, so medical professionals greatly rely on ventilators to help those infected breathe and fight the disease. In a report by the NY Times, the United States currently has 160,000 ventilators and there are 12,700 more in the National Strategic Supply.
Following the steps of Fiat Chrysler and Ford, GM has also shut down all of its production in North America to curb the spread of coronavirus. For now, these automakers expect the shutdown to last until March 30 to protect workers at production plants across the continent.
GM previously confirmed that it had spoken with the Trump administration to ramp up ventilator production. In a tweet, U.S. President Donald Trump gave his "go ahead" not only to GM but also to Tesla and Ford. These automakers will help create ventilators to help alleviate ventilator shortage amid the ongoing pandemic.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Saturday that he had a discussion with Medtronic about ventilators. Medtronic later confirmed those talks in a tweet. He had previously tweeted that SpaceX and Tesla will work on ventilators, without providing specifics.
CNET has asked both FCA and Ford to learn of both companies also have plans to produce ventilators. A spokesperson for FCA said the company is unaware of any conversations with the federal government, while Ford said they are currently discussing the "feasibility of producing ventilators."
