22 patients die at Indian hospital from lack of oxygen

MUMBAI: At least 22 patients died at a public hospital in India’s western Maharashtra state when their oxygen supply ran out after a leak in the tank on Wednesday, a government official said. “The oxygen tank had a leak while refilling, and that caused deaths of 22 patients,” Suraj Mandhare, an official in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, said, adding that the hospital was treating Covid-19 patients. In Delhi, authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meanwhile cancelled plans to visit India and the Philippines during his country’s extended holiday starting in late April amid a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, a senior government spokesman said on Wednesday. Asked about media reports that Suga’s trip to the two countries has been cancelled, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said: “In order to take all possible coronavirus countermeasures, it has been decided Prime Minister Suga won’t take any overseas trips during the Golden Week.” India, the world’s second-most populous country, is reporting the world’s highest number of new daily cases and approaching a peak of about 297,000 cases in one day that the United States hit in January. The latest data released by the health ministry showed there had been 295,041 new infections nationwide overnight and 2,023 deaths, India’s highest in the pandemic. Delhi’s government hospitals reported they only had enough oxygen to last another eight to 24 hours while some private ones had enough for just four or five hours. “We are facing huge problems in oxygen supply but somehow we are managing. Yesterday, it was very critical. We had only four to five hours oxygen in the evening,” said Ronit Kumar, head of Biomedical Engineering at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. Replenishment came before dawn on Wednesday, with enough to last through the day, he said, adding they were pushing their suppliers. “Since they are also facing huge requirements, so I don’t know. I have not got confirmation,” he said. — Reuters