Taiwanese company Foxconn to make ventilators at its US plant

The partnership was announced by Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic, who said that Foxconn will be manufacturing ventilators based on its PB-560 design in the next four to six weeks, reports CNBC.

"We plan to make together with them ventilators within the next four to six weeks. We are working 24/7 with Foxconn to bring this up to the factory in Wisconsin," the report quoted Ishrak as saying.

The taiwanese electronics manufacturer has been making face masks, used to curb the spread of the coronavirus in China since February.

Foxconn is not the only company rushing to produce ventilators in the face of a shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the US.

The US has recorded nearly 2,000 coronavirus deaths for a second consecutive day, taking the total toll to 14,817, the second highest in the world after Italy which has 17,669 fatalities, according to the latest update by the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University.

More than half of the deaths in the US -- about 8,100 were concentrated in the New York area, including the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, reports Efe news citing the update as saying.

Tesla is also producing a sub-component of Medtronic's PB-980 ventilator and is also working on a ventilator design of its own constructed using its car components.

Ford is working with GE to expand ventilator production while also using its own resources to build vents, respirators and face shields. GM intends to build ventilators at an Indiana-based car factory.