Centre's Response On Oxygen Availability, Allocation And Demand

The devastating second wave of infections and the threat from a mutating virus has left India grappling for oxygen and medicines.

To address the surge in pressing demand for liquid medical oxygen, a key component to treat the critically ill COVID-19 patients, the central government on Monday outlined the key measures it has taken to increase the availability, streamline the distribution and strengthen the oxygen storage infrastructure in the country. The devastating second wave of infections and the threat from a mutating virus has left India grappling for oxygen and medicines. Several states, hit hard by the virus, have sent as SOS to the centre seeking expedited delivery of oxygen supplies. "As the second wave of pandemic spread to other states, demand for oxygen increased from other states. The formula of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was used to estimate Oxygen requirement for each state in line with the active cases in the state, and maximum efforts were made to align oxygen allocation to the estimated demand for each state. Other factors such as availability of hospital infrastructure including ICU beds were also taken into account while finalising allocation," the government said on the critical question of oxygen allocation.