Thiruvananthapuram, May 14 (IANS): 180 oxygen cylinders and 3 ventilators sent by the supporters of Alpha Palliative Care in the UAE arrived at Nammude Arogyam Community Hospital (NACH) in Mathilakam, Thrissur, on Friday.

The Centre recently gave permission to the State governments that they will be allowed to receive support to tackle Covid from external agencies and organisations and will be free of iimport duties.

These cylinders will be utilised, as and when required, to treat Covid patients under the various centers of Alpha Palliative Care in the state, free of any charges.

At present, Alpha Palliative has 8445 patients under its care who are treated completely free of charge.

Out of the 180 oxygen cylinders, 100 are of 9.1 litres capacity each and the remaining 80 are of jumbo size, from 40 to 50 litres.

NACH is a not-for-profit hospital setup by NRIs from the United Arab Emirates. NACH is owned by Nammude Arogyam Charitable Trust (NACT), a secular charitable trust offering efficient medical treatment at affordable cost.