Around twenty critically ill COVID-19 patients died amid India’s oxygen crisis at Delhi’s Jaipur Golden Hospital on Saturday as the country’s national capital continues to face the shortage of medical oxygen, reported Press Trust of India.
“The oxygen pressure has dipped as we are running out of stock,” Dr. DK Baluja, the medical director of the hospital told PTI.
As per the reports, the doctor told PTI that the hospital has more than 200 patients and the medical oxygen was left for only half an hour at 10:45 am. After hours of delay, it received the last refill of oxygen around midnight, said Baluja.
The hospital has over 200 patients and 80 per cent of them are on oxygen support. Around 35 patients are in the ICU, he told the agency.“Nobody has promised anything. Everybody is saying we will do our best,” the medical director said when asked if the hospital received any help from the government.
The incident occured after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged the severe oxygen crisis faced by Delhi and “catastrophic” events that may follow if Delhi’s demand for liquid medical oxygen is not met. Kejriwal said some state governments are stopping tankers meant for Delhi to meet their requirement.
“Will people of Delhi not get oxygen if there is no oxygen-producing plant here? Please suggest whom should I speak to in Central Govt when an oxygen tanker destined for Delhi is stopped in another state?” Kejriwal said during the Covid-review conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Delhi reported 24,331 fresh COVID-19 cases and 348 deaths on Friday. In the last eleven days, the state has reported around 2,100 deaths.
India has recorded 3.46 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest single-day count in any country so far.
