Well, below is a part of an interview with the CEO of Dräger.
DER SPIEGEL: Car manufacturers and other firms have announced that they can manufacture ventilator components. Is that purely a PR move or is it actually helpful?
Dräger: There is little point in adapting unused production capacity to manufacture respiratory aids. I spoke with Daimler over the weekend. They would also like to help. But it’s unfortunately not so simple. We can’t build cars either. Before we invest too much thought into this, we should focus on getting devices that are sitting around in a basement somewhere back into working order. Or can we repurpose other devices? There is a lot of potential there.
DER SPIEGEL: Where do you think these kinds of reserves would come from?
Dräger: I believe it’s possible to use devices from ambulance service or anesthesiology departments. Such devices aren't meant for long-term respiration, but they can serve that purpose. We estimate that in Germany alone, 5,000 devices could be mobilized from this reserve. To make that possible, hospital staff, of course, need to be instructed in how to use these devices. And it also requires action on behalf of the regulatory authorities.