Delhi logged more than 28,000 fresh Covid cases over a 24-hour period yesterday. More than 1200 patients in the four hospitals are waiting for fresh oxygen supply.
New Delhi:
Three more Delhi hospitals have flagged a critical shortage of oxygen and said the Haryana government has blocked the tankers at the border. St Stephen Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and Sir Irene Hospital said their supplies will last a few hours.
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Haryana has accused Delhi of “looting” an oxygen tanker that was on way to Faridabad and ordered police protection for its tankers.
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State health minister Anil Vij said, “We are being forced to give our oxygen to Delhi. First, we’ll complete our needs, then give to others”.
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Father George, the Director of Delhi’s Holy Family Hospital, told NDTV that around 400 patients are on oxygen support and they have supplies till evening.
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A Faridabad-based company, which was their supplier, has refused to bring any more oxygen, citing “orders from above”, he said.
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A doctor at St Stephen’s hospital said they have 500 patients and only 2 hours of oxygen left. The oxygen, he said, is being held up at the Haryana border.
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The Indraprastha Apollo hospital also complained about disrupted oxygen supply and said its stocks can last only for 10 to 12 hours. The hospital has more than 350 Covid patients who are dependent on oxygen.
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Calling the level “dangerously low”, Apollo’s Managing Director P Shivakumar said it would have “serious ramifications for our patients, especially the over 350 oxygen dependent Covid-19 patients”.
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Delhi, struggling to manage an unprecedented surge of Covid, has been flagging a serious shortage of oxygen. Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had listed a number of private and government-run hospitals that are running low.
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The Arvind Kejriwal government told the Delhi High Court yesterday that oxygen supplier INOX was refusing to send supplies from its plants in Uttar Pradesh, saying it might create a law and order situation.
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Yesterday, three key hospitals in Delhi were down to just hours’ supply of oxygen. The GTB hospital had just four hours’ supply, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain tweeted hours after Max hospital and Ganga Ram hospital flagged their shortage.