11 new deaths recorded due to lack of oxygen

India’s healthcare infrastructure, which is tackling a surge of Covid-19 cases amid the second wave of the pandemic, has been in shambles as the demand for medical facilities exceeds the supplies. As a severe second wave of COVID-19 infections wreaks havoc in the country, one of the most pressing concerns has been a shortage of medical oxygen to treat patients. Shortages of medical oxygen have been reported from several states as daily Covid-19 infections have soared since the start of April in the second wave of the pandemic. Several patients have died after hospitals have run out of oxygen.

On 24th April, at least 20 coronavirus patients in Delhi died after the Jaipur Golden Hospital ran out of oxygen. A day before, 25 “sickest” coronavirus patients died overnight at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the city amid a last-minute scramble for oxygen. On 2nd May, 24 patients died in Chamarajanagar district hospital in Karnataka allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply. A day earlier, 12 patients, including a doctor, died in Delhi’s Batra Hospital after oxygen ran out for more than an hour at the private facility. On 4th May, 13 patients died at the Chengalpattu Government Hospital in Tamil Nadu following an alleged disruption in oxygen supply.

Andhra Pradesh reported 14,986 new positive cases on Sunday and 84 Covid deaths. Monday also saw a spat between Andhra and Telangana over Covid patients from Andhra reportedly being stopped from proceeding towards Hyderabad for treatment. PTI reported that Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das spoke to his Telangana counterpart Somesh Kumar to sort out the issue. For the past few days, authorities in Telangana have been saying that load in hospitals in Hyderabad is increasing due to patients coming from other places. This tuesday, eleven Covid patients who were in the ICU died at a government hospital in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati on Monday evening after the supply of medical oxygen was disrupted. The deaths have been reported at a time when India is fighting a deadly second Covid wave and shortage of medical oxygen has emerged as a key challenge. District Collector M Hari Narayana said while the 11 people who were on oxygen support died, they were able to save several others. Nearly 1,000 Covid patients are being treated at the hospital, from Tirupati, Chittoor, Nellore and Kadapa.

Even as families of patients alleged that the oxygen supply was disrupted for about 25-45 minutes, Chittoor District Collector M Hari Narayanan said “there was a five-minute lag in reloading the oxygen cylinder that caused the pressure to drop”, which led to the deaths. “The oxygen supply was restored within five minutes and everything is now normal. We have connected bulk cylinders and there is no reason to worry. A major disaster was averted because of quick action by the medical staff,” he said. Officials said the oxygen pressure started dropping after 8:30 pm and the patients died within a few minutes, before the supply could be restored. Angry relatives broke into the Covid ICU, damaged some equipment and overturned tables with injections and medicines. Officials said nurses and doctors fled the ICU fearing for their safety, returning only after police arrived and took control of the situation.

The delay in arrival of oxygen tanker from Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu had triggered the crisis, he further said. The hospital has a capacity of over 1,100 beds; there are over 100 patients in the ICU, and 400 on oxygen beds. About 30 doctors were immediately rushed into the ICU to attend to the patients.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has shared his condolences regarding the deaths and ordered a probe into the incident. Earlier on Monday, Reddy had held a review meeting on the coronavirus situation in the state, including measures to increase oxygen supply.