THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, June 11, 2021, clarified that 337 donated respirators have been delivered to more than 100 government and private hospitals.
The remaining 63 respirators are on standby for deployment to regions experiencing surges in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, the DOH said in a statement.
The Temasek Foundation based in Singapore had donated 400 respirators, including 30 that were sponsored by a private company associated with the tobacco industry.
The DOH said it did not accept the donation in line with CSC-DOH Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2010-01, which prohibits government agencies from accepting donations from the tobacco industry.
Instead, the DOH facilitated the immediate delivery of the machines to 10 private hospitals identified by the private company. The respirators are to be used on Covid-19 patients.
Temasek Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings, the state sovereign fund of Singapore.
It had also donated one million pieces of surgical masks and dialysis machines. (PR)