U.S. Air Force supplies;
Credit: U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg
The US Embassy and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Luxembourg have both announced ways in which their respective countries are assisting the Grand Duchy in the fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus).
For its part, the Czech Republic has shared its 3D printer solutions with Luxembourg. More specifically, Czechia has been offering solutions to rising demand for health protection equipment by sharing know-how for the local production of safety face shields and respiratory masks on 3D printers. The security screens of the Czech company PRUSA are already widely used in Luxembourg.
In addition, CVUT Technical University in Prague yesterday published free downloadable data for 3D printing of respiratory masks with the highest level of protection for doctors, nurses and other workers on the front line. Thousands of pieces can be produced per day. This data is available for download at https://rp95.cz/en/.
Similarly, the U.S. Air Force, in response to a request by the Luxembourg government, provided power generators and refrigeration units to the Luxembourg Army on Wednesday evening to support temporary hospitals in the country's ongoing fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S. Air Force also supported the effort of its local contractor to allow 36 employees from the Sanem Central Storage Facility to assist CargoLux with freight handling at Luxembourg Airport.
The equipment will be used to increase medical treatment capacity at a temporary hospital established by the Luxembourg Army and provided through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). According to a representative from Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), the NSPA prepared, supported and coordinated the transport and construction of the facility and will assure its maintenance. The representative added that fifteen NSPA experts are teaming with the Luxembourg Army on the project and the additional facilities will enable them to considerably adapt the triage area for patients with an adjacent zone for laboratory tests and an X-ray area.
These supplies are part of U.S. Air Force war reserve material stored at Sanem in south-western Luxembourg and managed by the 86th Materiel Maintenance Squadron, out of Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Randy Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, commented: “The United States will support any effort that can be made to assist Luxembourg, one of our closest NATO Allies and partners. We are in this public health crisis together and must all pull together to help each other”.
