RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The vehicles were imported from Canada by White Martins and will boost the product transportation logistics in the country.
This week, 14 trucks to support the transportation of medical oxygen in the country arrived in Brazil. The vehicles were imported from Canada by White Martins, in an inter-ministerial effort coordinated by the Ministry of Health. The measure is part of the Brazil Oxygen Plan, which helps states and municipalities ensure the treatment of patients with respiratory diseases, such as Covid-19.
The trucks will now be registered and undergo an adaptation process to be driven on Brazilian roads. The vehicles will be crucial to increasing the logistics of medical oxygen distribution to the country’s health institutions.
Through the Brazil Oxygen Plan, the Ministry of Health has so far coordinated the distribution of approximately 500,000 cubic meters of oxygen this year. The Ministry has worked on several fronts to ensure that the product reaches patients all across Brazil.
Currently, the focus is on small hospitals and emergency care units, mainly in the interior of states, which need cylinders to attend to patients. This equipment stores gaseous oxygen and needs to be refilled as it is used – on average, a patient with Covid-19 consumes a cylinder of about seven to ten cubic meters of oxygen per day.
To ensure agility in the process, the Ministry of Health has coordinated efforts with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), which transports the oxygen to regions in most need. The portfolio is also working relentlessly to secure more cylinders: 1,000 units have so far been shipped to several states, such as Acre, Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraná. In addition, an administrative request for 500 cylinders is in progress, from the industries’ surplus stock.
Currently, the Ministry of Health also counts on a cryogenic truck that leaves from Minas Gerais to Rondônia – a journey of approximately 10 days – with the capacity to supply several states along the way, such as Mato Grosso.
Source: Brazilian Government