Virus Outbreak: Desperate hunt for oxygen in crisis-hit Manaus
AFP, MANAUS, Brazil
In Manaus in the north of Brazil, residents can no longer rely on the state to treat loved ones suffering from COVID-19.
Instead of taking them to hospitals, relatives of the stricken wait up to 12 hours under the blazing sun to buy their own oxygen supplies.
“Everyone here has a family member being treated at home. They prefer that to leaving them to die in the hospitals,” said Fernando Marcelino, pointing to the dozens of people waiting like him at the new oxygen market.
Relatives of people infected with COVID-19 line up to refill their oxygen tanks at the company Carboxi in Manaus, Brazil, on Tuesday.
January 21, 2021
MANAUS, BRAZIL (AFP) – In Manaus in the north of Brazil, residents can no longer rely on the state to treat loved ones suffering from Covid-19.
Instead of taking them to hospitals, relatives of the stricken wait up to 12 hours under a blazing sun to buy their own oxygen supplies.
“Everyone here has a family member being treated at home. They prefer that to leaving them to die in the hospitals,” said Fernando Marcelino, indicating the dozens of people waiting like him at the new oxygen market.
In Amazonas state, whose capital is Manaus, a second coronavirus wave has hit hard, and the health system is at breaking point. The oxygen shortage has exacerbated the public health crisis in Manaus, which already was one of Brazil’s worst-hit cities during the pandemic’s first wave.