New Delhi: The Supreme Court asked to see a "national plan" on oxygen supply, essential drugs and method of vaccination and issued notice to the Centre on a day India recorded the world's biggest surge in Covid cases — 3.14 lakh cases and over 2,104 deaths in a day.
"We want to see the national plan on this issue," said Chief Justice of India S A Bobde. The hearing will take place on Friday.
The Supreme Court has stepped into the case at a time six High Courts across the country are hearing related petitions involving the crisis of oxygen, beds and the anti-viral drug Remdesivir in hospitals.
"We want to know. In regard to the four issues of supply of oxygen, supply of essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and we want to keep the power to declare lockout with the states," said the Chief Justice.
"We wish to take suo motu cognisance of certain issues we find in six High Courts — Delhi, Bombay, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta and Allahabad. Now they are exercising their jurisdiction in best interest. But what is happening is some kind of confusion and diversion of resources."
In a separate hearing on Vedanta's petition to open its closed copper plant in Tamil Nadu for the production of oxygen, Chief Justice Bobde remarked that "the present situation is like a national emergency". For three days, the Delhi High Court has been hearing emergency requests for oxygen and other resources from the city government and various hospitals in the city.
Two emergency hearings at the Delhi High Court ended late on Wednesday night after an oxygen tanker left for a hospital of the Max Group, the city's biggest hospital chain, which had approached the court pleading for help as it was almost out of oxygen for its Covid patients.
He added that the hospital currently has 110 patients and that it had also started discharging patients, with many running helter-skelter looking for oxygen to keep their kin alive.
Dr Saggar added that the hospital had managed to move the Delhi High Court for supplies, but during the hearing, the court said it must contact Delhi's nodal officer Udit Rai, who was assured in court by the Centre that all 480 MT supplies will reach Delhi by Thursday night.
Meanwhile, as Covid-19 cases continue to rise, the serious lack of oxygen has already started killing Covid suspects even before they get a chance to be examined by doctors.
In Gujarat, the official figure of COVID-19 deaths hover around 6,000 but reports in the local media put the number at more than double.
That beds in all government hospitals in the state are full was admitted by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel who also holds the portfolio of the Health department.
Gujarat added 13,105 new cases, its highest one-day rise so far, in the last 24 hours, health officials said on Thursday evening. It took the state's caseload to 4,53,836. As many as 137 patients, also the highest so far, succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,877.
Over a dozen new crematoriums set up in Gujarat in the wake of the second wave are operating round-the-clock as the death toll mounts.
The oxygen crisis in Lucknow is now literally leaving Covid patients gasping for breath. Despite assurances from the state government, there is an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders in the state capital. A record single-day spike of 34,379 COVID-19 cases and 195 fatalities pushed Uttar Pradesh's infection tally to 9,76,765 and the death toll due to the disease to 10,541.
Even after being sick, people in Bengaluru have to stay put in long queues for their Covid-19 testing. Reports suggest that people in the city are being asked to return home and come back to the testing sites after a while. There are hardly any staffers available for home collection.
As healthcare facilities across the country struggle to meet the medical oxygen demand, Maharashtra's largest government-run Sassoon General Hospital has decided to commission its own oxygen generating plant.
The state on Thursday reported 67,013 new Coronavirus cases, slightly less than the day before, taking its case tally to 40,94,840. As many as 568 patients succumbed to the infection, taking the toll to 62,479, said a health department official.