No dearth of oxygen at Delhi hospitals, say L-G House sources
There is no shortage of medical oxygen at hospitals in Delhi and that the government is taking all measures to ensure uninterrupted supply to provide better treatment to patients infected with Covid-19, L-G House sources told India TV.
On Tuesday evening, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendra Jain had said that there will be chaos in the city if the stocks are not replenished by Wednesday morning. Jain alleged that several hospitals have stock for just 6-8 hours and demanded an intervention from the Centre.
Sources said that Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised him about the current situation. The goverment acted swiftly and ansured that hospitals in the national capital receive fresh stock of medical oxygen.
Several hospitals including the GTB Hospital, Gangaram Hospital, LNJP, Ambedkar Nagar Hospital and others received oxygen tankers just in time, averting a crisis. Gangaram Hospital received 4,500 cubic metres of oxygen supply from a private vendor before 3 am. Another supplier sent 6,000 cubic metres of it later. All the 132 ICU beds in the hospital are occupied and this stock will likely last till 9 am on Thursday.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital has also confirmed that a truck carrying oxygen from a firm reached them around 1:30 am. Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said a truck carrying oxygen from a vendor reached the facility around 3 am, according to a PTI report. LNJP and GTB have 400 ICU beds each. All of theme are occupied. Ambedkar Nagar Hospital received fresh supply of oxygen at 5 am which officials said can last till 24 hours.
A record 28,395 coronavirus cases and 277 deaths marked the aggravation of the pandemic situation in Delhi on Tuesday as the positivity rate shot up to 32.82 per cent -- meaning every third sample came out positive -- amid a serious oxygen crisis unfolding in the city.
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