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Chennai: The phone rang in Chennai’s oxygen ‘war room’, instantly putting everyone on alert. A hospital in Thoothukudi, a Tamil Nadu town, was running low on the life-saving gas. A truck carrying oxygen cylinders to the hospital had been delayed.
A quick meeting took place between in-charge Anusuiya S, drug inspector Sharmila and others present, and a course of action was decided upon. Sharmila made a call to a police control room near the hospital, which saw the police immediately swing into action and escort the oxygen-carrying truck to the hospital.
The oxygen control room set up in the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation building in Chennai was made operational on 6 May. The aim: Create a smooth access chain for oxygen for hospitals treating Covid patients in the state, so that a “Delhi-like situation can be averted”, state health officials said.