No Covid-19 deaths due to oxygen shortage, says Govt
New Delhi: Despite the fact that almost every state faced an acute shortage of oxygen and several people succumbed to the infection due to the shortage of oxygen in hospitals wherein they were admitted during the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the government on Tuesday informed the Parliament that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs.
However, the government has admitted that there was an unprecedented surge in demand for medical oxygen during the second wave and it peaked at nearly 9,000 MT compared to 3,095 MT in the first wave following which the Centre had to step in to facilitate equitable distribution among the states.
In reply to a question asked by Congress leader KC Venugopal about the number of Covid-19 patients died on roads and hospitals due to acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave, Minister of State for Health Bharati Praveen Pawar said that health is a state subject and states and UTs regularly report the number of cases and deaths to the Centre.
Commenting on the minister's reply, Congress leader Venugopal said, "The government in its reply has said that nobody in the country died due to a shortage of oxygen. In every state, we saw how many patients died due to the lack of oxygen. We know that the minister has misled the House. We will move a Privilege Motion against that minister."
"Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states and UTs. Accordingly, all states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by states and UTs," Pawar told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The Union Minister further said, "The government has supported the states and undertook a series of actions, including provisioning medical oxygen, and other consumables to ensure clinical care of Covid-19 patients in view of the steep rise of Covid-19 trajectory in the country during April- May 2021."
"However, due to unprecedented surge in demand for medical oxygen during the second wave –the demand in the country peaked at nearly 9,000 MT as compared to 3,095 MT during the first wave –the central government had to step in to facilitate equitable distribution to the states," Pawar said.
As per the Health Ministry's data, Maharashtra and Karnataka each were allotted the highest 1,200 MT oxygen, followed Uttar Pradesh 894 MT, Gujarat 800 MT, Tamil Nadu 650 MT, Andhra Pradesh 590 MT, Rajasthan 505 MT, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh each 500 MT, West Bengal 480 MT, Telangana 450 MT and Delhi 400 MT, etc.
