Mexican factory making ventilators for the US is shut down by government after it refused to sell the machines to local hospitals
- American-owned Smiths Medical plant in the northern border town of Baja, California, that was making ventilators, was shut down Friday
- Gov. Jaimie Bonilla closed down the plant after the company refused to sell the machines to Mexican hospitals to treat coronavirus patients
- Bonilla said the firm had continued to operate its local factory as an 'essential service', after non-essential plants were ordered closed to combat the pandemic
- But Bonilla ordered the plant shuttered because he argued it was providing no such essential service to Mexicans
- Bonilla adds that the company said the ventilators being assembled at the plant were committed to 'other countries'
- Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company is owned by UK-based Smiths Group
- Mexico now has 3,844 case of the new coronavirus, with 233 deaths nationwide
The northern Mexico border state of Baja California
closed a plant run by American health care firm Smiths Medical Friday
for allegedly refusing to sell ventilators to Mexican hospitals treating
coronavirus patients.
Baja
California Gov. Jaime Bonilla said the firm refused to sell some of the
machines, which are badly needed to treat patients with the deadly
flu-like virus known as COVID-19.
Bonilla
said the firm had continued to operate its assembly plant under the
argument it provided an 'essential' service, when most non-essential
plants have been ordered closed to combat the pandemic.
Baja California Gov. Jaime Bonilla said the firm refused to sell some of
the machines, which are badly needed to treat patients infected by
COVID-19
But Bonilla ordered Smiths Medical closed,
because he argued it was providing no such essential service to
Mexicans, and thus was not obeying health emergency contingency
measures.
The company, he added, said the ventilators assembled there are committed to other countries, reports Mexico News Daily.
Mexico’s
medical device industry has been scrambling to meet an eleven-fold jump
in demand for ventilators as patients with respiratory conditions
linked to the coronavirus pandemic overwhelm hospitals in the United
States and Europe, reports Reuters.
Smiths Medical is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is owned by UK-based Smiths Group.
In
addition Smiths, US medical device firm Hillrom is planning to start
building ventilators in Tijuana, while companies such as Vyaire Medical,
Fisher & Paykel and Getinge are either boosting production of
auxiliary ventilator parts or other coronavirus-linked products such as
masks and protective clothing.
Bonilla's demand on Smith Medical comes as Mexico now has 3,844 case of the new coronavirus, with 233 deaths nationwide.
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