COVID-19: Railways develops policy to transport liquid medical oxygen
The Railways has formulated a policy for the transportation of liquid medical oxygen in cryogenic tankers after a plea by the government of Maharashtra, one of the worst affected states by the coronavirus, to combat the pandemic. The policy, which was made public late Friday night, said the cryogenic tankers will be transported as a paid-for roll-on-roll (Ro-Ro) service to various destinations across states.
Staff to be charged second class ticket by the railways
Maharashtra's health secretary had requested the transport of medical oxygen in cryogenic containers. The circular said that the staff accompanying liquid oxygen trucks to be loaded on the Ro-Ro service will be charged second class ticket for the journey and only two persons will be allowed to accompany the truck. The empty flow direction of the containers will also be charged by the railways
Maharashtra CM has sought PM's support to address oxygen shortage
Earlier this week, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said there was a shortage of medical oxygen in the state and had sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support for addressing the issue. Amid a steep rise in coronavirus cases, the Prime Minister on Friday undertook a comprehensive review to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the country and called for ramping up its production.
Another record spike was reported on Friday
With cases hitting a new peak in several parts of the country, the demand for medical oxygen has increased as it is a critical component in the treatment of COVID-19-affected patients. A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 cases and 1,341 fatalities pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll due to the viral disease to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday.
