Hospitals in the country are struggling to cope with shortages of beds and oxygen supplies some say they only have a few hours of oxygen supply left. Crematoriums are also starting to melt from operating for so long.
Prashant Kanojia, member of the Rashtriya Lok Dal party in India and a former journalist, on Sunday tweeted with the hashtag #CovidSOS that a hospital in Meerut, north India, needed urgent oxygen supplies.
In response to a thread by journalist Swati Chaturvedi to amplify people s requests for help, one Twitter user said her relative was a critical cancer patient who couldn t be transferred to ICU because there were no beds available.
Social media platforms become triage centers as India struggles with a COVID-19 surge
Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook groups in India inundated with pleas for oxygen and ICU beds
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Doctors, hospital owners, journalists, and other Twitter users in India have been tweeting and amplifying pleas for oxygen supplies on social platforms out of desperation, as new coronavirus cases and deaths there hit record highs. Oxygen supplies are at critical low levels in India, and some hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering from COVID-19.
Using hashtags like #CovidSOS and #COVIDEmergency2021, many in India are seeking ICU beds, oxygen, and plasma, and others have tried to direct those in need to suppliers. Groups on WhatsApp and Facebook have been inundated with posts from people in need of ICU beds, oxygen, and other supplies, as organizations like HumanKind Global try to track down leads to help them.
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Politics3 hours ago
New Delhi: As Delhi’s hospitals were making desperate calls for oxygen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal handling of the COVID-19 crisis came under sharp scrutiny, the ruling partyâs spokespersons and government-aligned media found new scapegoats this week.
On Tuesday evening, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that some hospitals were left with âjust a few hours of oxygenâ. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia posted a list of hospitals with the number of hours left for their oxygen supply to run out.
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Sir Ganga Ram Hospital received 14,000 cubic metres of oxygen, which is believed to last for only a day or two. At Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, officials say the fresh supply can last 24 hours.
An oxygen tanker and cylinders being transported to treat COVID-19 patients, Sunday, April 18, 2021. Photo: PTI
Health11 hours ago
New Delhi: A day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged an acute shortage of oxygen supplies in the national capital, and the Delhi high court ordered the Centre to take urgent steps, the city’s biggest medical facilities received a late night refill on Tuesday, news reports said.
Did Haryana block oxygen supply to Delhiâs hospitals?
Four city hospitals claimed the neighbouring state had stopped their supply before Delhi s deputy CM said it d been restored. But the scramble for oxygen continues.
Shambhavi Thakur
At around 3.30 pm on Wednesday, Dr John Punnooses, associate medical director at St Stephens Hospital, Tis Hazari, Delhi, told
Newslaundry they only had enough oxygen to last until 8 in the evening.
âOur supplier of oxygen is Linde and the plant is in Faridabad,â he said. âAuthorities of the Linde organization informed us that the plant has been sealed by the Haryana government and they will not be able to supply us oxygen. The oxygen supply at the hospital will run out by 8 pm. We have 300 Covid patients who are admitted and are receiving oxygen.â