At least 22 patients were killed in a hospital in western India on Wednesday after an interruption in their oxygen supply caused by a leaking tank, the health minister said, while a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases caught the gas.
The incident in the city of Nashik, one of India’s worst-hit areas, happened after the oxygen tank leaked, said Rajesh Tope, the health minister of Maharashtra, the richest state, where the city is located.
“Patients who were on ventilators at the hospital in Nashik have died,” Tope said in television remarks.
“The leak was noticed in the tank that supplies oxygen to these patients. The interrupted supply may be related to the death of the patients in the hospital.”
The world’s second most populous country reported 295,041 new infections on Wednesday – the largest daily increase reported in any country – reaching its breaking point in hospitals, officials said.
The United States alone had a slightly higher one-day rise of 297,430 cases in January, although the count has fallen sharply since then. India’s 2,023 deaths were also the highest in the pandemic.
The Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine, added that it could increase monthly production by 100 million doses by 60-70 million. later than its previous timeline of late May.
The delay could delay India’s immunization process, which the government has opened for all adults from next month to try to stem the deadly second wave.
Hospitals in Delhi, the capital and elsewhere, have warned that their supply of medical oxygen given to seriously ill COVIOD-19 patients is dwindling as the cases flow in.
Max Healthcare, the largest healthcare provider in the private sector in Delhi and its suburbs, said some of its hospitals have barely two hours of oxygen left.
“The hospital has experienced serious problems in the last few days to procure adequate oxygen supplies,” reads a statement.
“Currently, most hospitals in the network are working on dangerously low oxygen supply, which could lead to a very serious adverse patient incident,” Max said.
Television showed images of people with empty oxygen cylinders filling perfect facilities in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh as they scrambled to rescue injured family members in hospital.
The situation was so bad that some people tried to loot an oxygen tanker, which had to force the authorities to tighten security, the health minister in the northern state of Haryana said.
“From now on, I have ordered police protection for all tankers,” Anil Vij told ANI.
REDUCING THE GUARD
Health experts said that India was shocked when the virus was under control during the winter, which made big events such as weddings and festivals possible.
India is now facing a “storm” of a coronavirus overwhelming its health system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national speech overnight, adding that authorities are working with states and private companies to get rid of oxygen with “speed and sensitivity” to deliver.
Modi himself is being criticized for addressing packed political rallies for local elections and holding a religious festival in which millions are going to bathe in a ritual in the Ganges River, which is considered sacred by Hindus.
India has so far administered nearly 130 million doses of vaccine, most in the world to the United States and China, but still small relative to the population of 1.35 billion people. (Https://tmsnrt.rs/3tlH6Gq)
In many countries, vaccine doses have fallen short, although vaccinations are currently limited to frontline workers and those over 45.
(Global vaccination tracker: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access/)
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