Oxygen crisis worsens in Delhi hospitals

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 20

The surging Covid-19 pandemic left Delhi’s health system in the lurch with the state government on Tuesday evening pressing alarm bells about most hospitals being left with few hours of oxygen supply.

“Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge the Centre with folded hands to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Hospitals are left with few hours of supply,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter today to send an SOS hours after the government said at a meeting with UTs that the next three weeks were crucial in the fight against the pandemic.

“The next three weeks are very crucial. At a meeting today, the union territories were advised to augment hospital infrastructure, ramp up testing, set up containment zones and enforce Covid behaviour,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

Delhi’s crisis came on a day when the national Covid cases touched 1,53,21,089 with 2,59,170 daily infections, a slight dip over the past two days. Toll has increased to 1,80,530 with a record 1,761 new fatalities today and active cases surged to 20,31,977— — making up 13.26 per cent of all infections. The recovery rate has dropped to 85.56 per cent.

Daily Covid cases today were marginally less than yesterday’s 27, 3810 and day before’s 2,61,500 but still whopping enough to overwhelm the health systems.

Delhi, which has witnessed significant breakdown of infrastructure, continued to reel under massive medical equipment supply constraint today with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying hospitals were making frantic calls to say they had just 8 to 12 hours of oxygen supply left.

“If oxygen supplies in adequate quantities are not arranged by tomorrow morning, there will be mayhem in the Capital,” warned Sisodia on Twitter, noting that suppliers were being stopped in different states.