New Delhi: Indian authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, Delhi, on Wednesday as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said.
India, the world’s second most populous country, is reporting the world’s highest number of new daily cases and approaching a peak of about 297,000 cases in one day that the United States hit in January.
The latest data released by the health ministry showed there had been 295,041 new infections nationwide overnight and 2,023 deaths, India’s highest in the pandemic.
Delhi’s government hospitals reported they only had enough oxygen to last another eight to 24 hours while some private ones had enough for just four or five hours.