The Evening Wrap: Oxygen shortage continues to kill COVID-19 patients
| | The Evening WrapSaturday | 24 April, 2021 |  |
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20 COVID-19 patients die in Delhi's Jaipur Golden Hospital due to oxygen shortage |
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As many as 20 critically-ill COVID-19 patients died at Jaipur Golden Hospital in the national capital on Friday night due to low stock of oxygen. The hospital on Saturday morning said it had oxygen for only 45 minutes and sought urgent government help. The city has been grappling with shortage in oxygen supply for the past seven days amid a huge surge in coronavirus cases. "20 critically ill COVID-19 patients died last night over oxygen crisis. The oxygen stock was never completely dry, but the pressure was low as we were running out of stock," Dr. D.K. Baluja, Medical Director of Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi told The Hindu. He added that they have stopped new admissions. "We are getting very less supply of oxygen. Cannot run a hospital like this," he said.. Delhi government has been blaming Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments for not allowing smooth supply of oxygen from private oxygen plants in the States to Delhi. Ideally there should be a buffer stock of oxygen for at least 48 hours in hospitals, according to doctors. But since the record surge in COVID-19 cases in the city, hospitals have been working with lesser stock and they are refilling almost on a daily basis. Most hospitals are operating with oxygen stock which would last only for 12-18 hours, officials said. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court today said that if any official at the central, state or local administration was obstructing the picking up or supply of oxygen, then "we will hang that man". The observation by a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli came during hearing of a plea by Maharaja Agrasen Hospital over shortage of oxygen for seriously-ill Covid-19 patients. The court told the Delhi government to give it one instance of who was obstructing the oxygen supply and said "we will hang that man". Kejriwal spending crores on publicity, doing nothing to augment oxygen supply in Delhi, says CongressThe Congress on Saturday accused the Arvind Kejriwal government of spending crores on publicity but doing nothing in the past one year to augment oxygen storage capacity and set up new plants in the national capital. Congress leader Ajay Maken said the Centre and the Delhi government can squabble later but they should at least work for public welfare and development during the Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing a virtual press conference, he said the Centre has informed the High Court that it has sanctioned eight pressure swing absorption (PSA) plants but only one plant has been set up. The Delhi government has not added even a single PSA plant in the past year and neither has it augmented the oxygen storage capacity in the national capital, he alleged. "Why oxygen plants have not come up in Delhi, whereas States such as Rajasthan have set up 24 out of 37 PSA units sanctioned in the past one year and seven big oxygen storage plants," he asked. "Instead of doing their bit, they are trying to put the blame on each other to divert the attention. What the Delhi government and the Central government has done is criminal. They have not spent a single penny on enhancing oxygen supply and adding storage capacity in Delhi in the past year," he said, urging them to provide at least oxygen to people struggling to get it. Maken alleged that the Delhi government spent ₹355 crore on advertisement and publicity in the last year and another ₹467 crore has been earmarked as publicity budget for this year. With a total of ₹822 crore being spent on advertisements and publicity on Delhi in the last two years, one can set up as many as 800 oxygen plants, adding 750 metric tonnes capacity of oxygen, but the government will not take such a step in public welfare, he alleged. Maken also pointed out that the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare stated in March last year that the government should take measures to ensure oxygen supply and its pricing. He also referred to the recommendation of the empowered group set up in this regard in April 2020, highlighting the shortage of oxygen that could happen in the country due to the pandemic. Govt claim that there is no vaccine shortage is hollow, says P. ChidambaramCongress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday pointed to the shortage of vaccines and warned the government of more protests if people were turned away at hospitals. He, however, welcomed the decision to vaccinate all above the age of 18 years from May 1. "However, we have to caution the government that this decision brings with it huge responsibilities," he tweeted. The former Minister said the first and foremost requirement was the availability of vaccines, adding that there were widespread complaints about the lack of supply of the jabs. "The government's claim that there is no shortage of vaccines is hollow and untrue," he said. "When the surge in demand happens on May 1 and more people flock to hospitals for vaccination, will there be adequate stocks of vaccines all over the country?" he asked. "If people are turned away at hospitals, there will be great resentment and protests." Chidambaram said the time to plan for May 1 started many weeks ago, and wondered whether the government was prepared for it. "I am sceptical. Nevertheless, I urge the government to start preparing NOW in order to meet the much greater demand for vaccines on and after May 1," the Congress leader said. All adults will be eligible for coronavirus vaccination from May 1 after the government announced its liberalised vaccine policy. Currently, only people above 45 years of age are eligible to get the vaccine. Tamil Nadu to shut theatres, gyms, shopping malls as fresh restrictions come into effect from April 26Amid surging COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced more restrictions, including mandatory e-registration for those entering the State (except from Puducherry), which would come into effect from 4 a.m. on April 26 (Monday). Theatres, gyms, all bars, recreation clubs, big format shops, shopping complexes, and malls will not be allowed to operate, while industrial establishments can function as per existing norms. The government has made e-registration mandatory for those entering Tamil Nadu, including persons from abroad. The current 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. night curfew and Sunday total lockdown would continue to be in place. Auditoriums and meeting halls are not allowed to function, as per the new restrictions. Independent vegetable and grocery stores and departmental stores are allowed to operate without air conditioning and with only 50% footfall at any given point of time. RSS warns against 'anti-Bharat' forces amid pandemicIn the midst of a massive second wave of Covid-19 infections hitting India, the RSS on Saturday appealed for caution against "destructive and anti-Bharat forces" who, it said, could exploit the situation to "create an atmosphere of negativity and distrust." RSS general secretary and second-in-command Dattatreya Hosabale released a statement which also asked the organisation's workers, and social and religious institutions to come forward to resolve current challenges. "It is also possible that destructive and anti-Bharat forces in the society can take advantage of these circumstances to create an atmosphere of negativity and mistrust in the country. The countrymen, apart from their positive efforts to resolve the situation, should also be cautious of the conspiracies of these destructive forces," said Hosabale in his statement. On behalf of the Sangh, he also requested all sections of the society including the media to contribute in maintaining an atmosphere of positivity, hope and trust in the society. "Those who are active on social media should play positive role," he said. Less than two months after Quad summit on vaccine cooperation, U.S. denies India's request to lift ban on export of COVID vaccine raw materialsDefending U.S.'s restrictions on the export of key vaccine raw materials that threatens to slow India's COVID-19 vaccination drive by slowing down production, a senior State Department official has said the Biden administration's first obligation is to take care of the requirements of the American people. Interestingly, in a Quad summit held on March 12 this year, the leaders of the Quad countries, which include the U.S. and India, along with Japan and Australia, had highlighted mutual cooperation to boost the supply of COVID-19 vaccines "to meet shortages in southeast Asia". On being asked when the Biden administration would decide on India's request to lift a ban on the export of vaccine raw materials, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: "...the United States first and foremost is engaged in an ambitious and effective and, so far, successful effort to vaccinate the American people." "That campaign is well underway, and we're doing that for a couple of reasons. Number one, we have a special responsibility to the American people. Number two, the American people, this country has been hit harder than any other country around the world – more than 550,000 deaths, tens of millions of infections in this country alone," he said on Thursday. It is not only in the U.S. interest to see Americans vaccinated; but it is in the interests of the rest of the world to see Americans vaccinated, he said. "The point the Secretary (of State Antony Blinken) has made repeatedly is that as long as the virus is spreading anywhere, it is a threat to people everywhere. So as long as the virus is spreading uncontrolled in this country, it can mutate and it can travel beyond our borders. That, in turn, poses a threat well beyond the United States," Price said in responses to questions. As for the rest of the world, "We will, of course, always do as much as we can, consistent with our first obligation," he said. The Biden administration had recently conveyed to New Delhi that the current difficulty in the export of critical raw materials needed to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines is mainly due to an Act that forces American companies to prioritise domestic consumption. President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump had invoked the war-time Defence Production Act (DPA) that leaves U.S. companies with no option but to give priority to the production of Covid-19 vaccines for domestic production. Covid Watch: Numbers and DevelopmentsThe number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,67,73,185 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,90,421. Ahead of the rollout of vaccination for people aged between 18 and 45 from May 1, the Centre on Saturday asked States to register additional private vaccination centres and ensure effective crowd management at sites and stressed on inoculation through "only online registration" for beneficiaries in the age bracket. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and 'Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to Combat COVID-19' chairman R.S. Sharma held a high-level meeting on Saturday to guide States and Union Territories on effective implementation of the new vaccination strategy (Phase-3) and to review their augmentation plans so as to strengthen the existing hospital and clinical treatment infrastructure for Covid-19 patients. In BriefJustice N.V. Ramana was on Saturday sworn in as the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ceremony to administer the oath of office, held as per Covid-19 protocol, was attended by Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, among others. Justice Ramana will have a tenure of one year and four months as CJI and will demit office on August 26, 2022. After Justice K. Subba Rao, Justice Ramana is the second CJI from Andhra Pradesh. The CBI has registered a case and is conducting searches in connection with the corruption allegations involving former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, according to an agency official. The agency had earlier initiated a preliminary enquiry into the allegations, following a directive from the Bombay High Court. The statement of Deshmukh was earlier recorded by the probe team. Six patients died at a private hospital in Amritsar due to shortage of medical oxygen, even as the State government on Saturday ordered the shutdown of operations in iron and steel industries to divert oxygen for medical use, along with the immediate establishment of Oxygen Control Rooms at the State and district levels amid the escalating oxygen crisis. The government has decided to exempt basic customs duty on import of COVID-19 vaccines, and the basic customs duty and health cess on import of medical grade oxygen and other equipment related to providing oxygen to patients, for a period of three months. The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister to review steps taken to boost oxygen availability in the country, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. |
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