Amid COVID crisis, Delhi's Ganga Ram Hospital receives 5 metric tonnes of oxygen
Delhi on Saturday reported 24,103 new COVID-19 cases and 357 deaths, the highest single-day toll for the city since the outbreak of the pandemic.
After an all-night scramble for an oxygen refill, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi received five metric tonnes of the life-saving gas in the early hours of Sunday, according to officials.
The hospital had raised an alarm at 10.30 p.m. on Saturday, saying its oxygen stock would last only an hour. There were 130 patients in the ICU, including 30 on invasive ventilation, when the SOS was sent.
Around 12.20 a.m. it received a tanker, with the help of local AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, which supplied one metric tonne of oxygen.
“It should last two hours,” a hospital spokesperson said around 12.45 p.m.
According to him, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital's primary supplier in Faridabad was supposed to send a tanker before 3 a.m.
The tanker finally arrived at 4.15 a.m. and delivered 5 metric tonnes of medical oxygen, the highest volume that the hospital has received in the last three days in one refill, he said.
“It should last for 11-12 hours. Oxygen running at full pressure after a long time,” the spokesperson said.