Maharashtra to step up oxygen supply to hospitals

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the move was linked to a warning by the World Health Organisation that there will be a surge in Covid 19 cases in the coming days.

Thane: The Chief Minister of Maharashtra state has said 80 percent of oxygen supplies will go to hospitals and the rest to industries.

Uddhave Thackeray said the decision was made in the wake of a WHO warning that Covid-19 cases will surge in the coming days.

He also said that although there were only a handful of laboratories in the state when the outbreak began, but, their number has now grown to 550. The government is taking steps to set up adequate health facilities in the entire state, not just in Mumbai.

Thackeray said while inaugurating a laboratory and six COVID Care centres in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. "The distribution of oxygen cylinders will be done through a centralised system," he said. The state government is creating better health infrastructure to tackle the pandemic, he said.

"But despite the excellent quality of medical facilities, people are sceptical about them. Therefore, the agencies should make efforts to increase the credibility among people towards the facilities," Thackeray said.

Read: Next 3 months challenging as Covid-19 cases spike sharply: Uddhav

He added that prominent hospitals should be asked to adopt the smaller ones for the treatment of patients. Thackeray said the lockdown was carried out to break the virus chain.

"Ganeshotsav was celebrated on a low-key note and as per the guidelines of the government. But in the same period, we found several family members getting infected," he said. He said that the use of face mask, maintaining social distancing, washing hands are some of the steps one should follow.

PTI