Two containers for carrying oxygen being brought from Dubai
Two containers for transportation of oxygen are being brought from Dubai amid increasing demand for medical oxygen in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday. Earlier, four cryogenic tanks for transportation of oxygen were brought from Singapore on Saturday. India is struggling with COVID-19 second wave and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.
Aircraft reached Dubai today to airlift more empty O2 containers
"IAF C-17 aircraft reached Dubai today to airlift more empty O2 containers to supplement efforts to enhance oxygen availability in current COVID-19 surge. The effort is being coordinated by MHA," a Home Ministry spokesperson tweeted.
Here is what the Home Ministry spokesperson tweeted
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in India
Since Friday, the home ministry has been coordinating efforts to deploy empty oxygen tankers and containers in various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients. The coronavirus situation continues to be grim in India with 3,52,991 people testing positive and a record 2,812 deaths being reported on Monday.
First 'Oxygen Express' arrived in Maharashtra on April 23
The central government is trying to source oxygen from different parts of the country and making it available in the worst-hit states by running special trains. The first-ever "Oxygen Express" carrying seven empty tankers filled with liquid medical oxygen from Visakhapatnam reached Maharashtra on April 23. Four of those tankers were offloaded at Nashik and three at Nagpur, considering the local need.
Second 'Oxygen Express' with three tankers arrived today in Maharashtra
Due to a shortage of liquid oxygen in Maharashtra due to the COVID-19 surge, the second "Oxygen Express" with three tankers loaded with liquid medical oxygen arrived at Kalamboli near Mumbai from Jamnagar in Gujarat on Monday, railway officials said. "The three oxygen tankers are supplied by the Reliance Industries in Jamnagar," Western Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Sumit Thakur said.
Maharashtra reported its highest-ever spike in death toll on Sunday
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Sunday logged 832 COVID-19 related fatalities, which is the highest-ever single-day spike since the pandemic started. With Sunday's count, the death toll in the state has reached 64,760. As many as 66,191 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Maharashtra on Sunday, which is slightly lower than Friday's count of 67,160. On Friday, meanwhile, the state had logged 66,836 new infections.
