At least 22 patients died in a hospital in Western India on Wednesday after a disruption to their oxygen supply caused by a leaking tank, the health minister said, as a nationwide wave of coronavirus cases sucked up supplies of the gas.
The incident in the city of Nashik, one of the most affected areas of India, took place 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 breathing equipment at the hospital in Nashik have died,” Tope said in comments on television.
“The leak was noticed at the tank that supplies oxygen to these patients. The intermittent supply may be related to the deaths of the patients in the hospital.”
The second-most populous country in the world reported 295,041 new infections on Wednesday – the largest daily increase reported in any country – that has stretched hospitals to breaking point, officials said.
Only the United States had a slightly higher one-day rise of 297,430 cases in January, although the number has fallen sharply since then. India’s 2023 deaths were also the highest during the pandemic.
To add to the sense of alarm, the Serum Institute of India, which produces the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine, said it could increase its monthly output from 60-70 million now to 100 million doses in July. later than the previous timeline at the end of May.
The delay could slow India’s immunization push, which the government has opened to all adults starting next month to try to stop the deadly second wave.
Hospitals in Delhi, the capital and elsewhere have warned that their supplies of medical oxygen given to critically ill COVIOD-19 patients are running out as the cases pour in.
Max Healthcare, the largest private healthcare provider in Delhi and the suburbs, said some of its hospitals had barely two hours of oxygen left.
“In recent days, the hospital has faced serious difficulties in obtaining an adequate and regular supply of oxygen,” said a statement.
“Currently, most hospitals in the network are working on dangerously low oxygen supplies, which could lead to a very serious incident with the patient,” said Max.
On television were images of people with empty oxygen bottles crowding in the most densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh to rescue the affected family members in the hospital.
The situation was so dire that some people had attempted to loot an oxygen tanker, forcing authorities to step up security, said the health minister of the northern state of Haryana.
“As of now, I have ordered police protection for all tankers,” Anil Vij told Reuters partner ANI.
REDUCTION OF PROTECTION
Health experts said India had dropped its guard when the virus seemed to be under control in the winter, allowing for large gatherings such as weddings and festivals.
India is now facing a coronavirus “storm” that is overwhelming its health system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said overnight in a national speech, adding that authorities were working with states and private companies to provide oxygen with “speed and sensitivity” to deliver.
Modi himself has been criticized for tackling tuned-in political rallies for local elections and allowing a religious festival in which millions take a ritual bath in the Ganges River, considered sacred by Hindus.
India has administered nearly 130 million doses of vaccine to date, the most in the world after the United States and China, but still small in relation to its population of 1.35 billion people. (Https://tmsnrt.rs/3tlH6Gq)
Vaccination doses have already risen in many states, although vaccinations are currently limited to front-line workers and people over the age of 45.
(Global Vaccination Tracker: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access/)
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