Daily US Times: Hospitals in India’s capital Delhi continued to send desperate messages for emergency oxygen supplies as the oxygen crisis intensifies through Sunday night, warning that patients are at risk.
The Oxygen crisis started two weeks ago but showed no signs of abating.
At least 12 patients died when a prominent hospital ran out of oxygen on Saturday, a doctor was including them. Outside hospitals, families of coronavirus patients who can not find a bed are struggling to get hold of portable cylinders – sometimes standing in queues for up to 12 hours.
Several big hospitals in the Indian capital are relying on daily oxygen supplies but they are not getting enough to keep some as backup in case of emergency.
One doctor described the current coronavirus situation as frightening, explaining: “Once you’ve used up your main tank, there is nothing to fall back on.”
The situation is worse still in small hospitals that do not have storage tanks and have to rely on big cylinders.
And the oxygen crisis comes as Covid-19 cases continue to surge.
Delhi alone reported more than 20,000 new coronavirus infections and 407 deaths on Sunday.
Over the weekend, India recorded its highest daily Covid related death toll since the pandemic began, and became the first country to register more than 400,000 new cases in a single day.
Dr Gautam Singh, who runs the Shri Ram Singh hospital, says he has 50 Covid-19 beds and space for 16 ICU patients, but has had to refuse admissions as there is no guarantee of oxygen supply.
In the past few days, He has put out a number of SOS calls, getting oxygen just in time to avoid disaster.
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