Oxygen leak kills 22 Covid-19 patients in India
Maharashtra chief minister orders an inquiry as India tackles a huge increase in coronavirus cases and deaths
Police stand guard at the entrance of Zakir Hussain Hospital after an oxygen leak caused the deaths of 21 coronavirus patients on April 21. (Photo: Viru Kadam/AFP)
An oxygen leak at a government hospital in India has killed 22 Covid-19 patients as the entire country faces a huge shortage of oxygen to support pandemic-hit patients.
The leak in the main liquid oxygen storage tank at Zakir Hussain Hospital, managed by the Nashik Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra state, led to a drop in the oxygen pressure of ventilators and the patients died immediately on April 21, said a senior official.
Health workers alarmed as India runs out of hospital beds
Bishops, priests and nuns among Covid-19 patients as India reports more than 217,000 new cases on April 15
An Indian health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a passenger for Covid-19 screening on a railway platform in Mumbai on April 16. (Photo: Punit Paranjpe/AFP)
India’s Covid-19 care hospitals in many major cities, both government and private, have run out of space after a sudden spike in positive cases in the second wave of the pandemic, Catholic health workers say.
“Our hospitals do not have space for fresh admissions,” said Bishop Jose Chittooparambil of Rajkot in Gujarat state in western India, one of the worst-affected regions.