Punjab prepares to tackle medical oxygen shortage

Punjab is bracing for a shortage of Oxygen cylinders due to rising Coronavirus cases. The demand for oxygen cylinders has reached an all-time high and the supply and stock of oxygen cylinders are very limited. Various cities and districts of Punjab are preparing to handle the shortage in oxygen supply.

Punjab is bracing for a shortage of Oxygen cylinders due to rising Coronavirus cases. The demand for oxygen cylinders has reached an all-time high and the supply and stock of oxygen cylinders are very limited. Various cities and districts of Punjab are preparing to handle the grim situation of Oxygen supply.

Ludhiana: Dr Amarjit Kaur, SMO, Ludhiana Civil Hospital said that there is no shortage of oxygen till now. She added that oxygen has never been depleted in the hospitals of Ludhiana and new oxygen-generating plant with a capacity of 126 oxygen cylinders has been set up in the Civil Hospital. The price of an Oxygen cylinder has also gone up to Rs 16,000 in the city.

Bathinda: A reality check in Bathinda. The dealer supplying oxygen cylinders to government and private hospitals said that they have only left with 2 to 3 days of supply and there is no oxygen plant in the city, so they depend on other states for Oxygen cylinders. Maninder Singh, SMO posted at the government hospital, said that at present they have a sufficient supply of medical oxygen but this demand may increase in the coming days.

Jalandhar: TP Singh, the nodal officer of Jalandhar said that last year they had faced some scarcity of Oxygen, but this year there is no Oxygen shortage till now. Civil Surgeon Balwant Singh said that according to the number of patients in Jalandhar, there is no shortage of oxygen.

On the other hand, Jalandhar District Collector Ghanshyam Thori wrote a letter to the health department of the Punjab government stating the situation in Jalandhar district and demanded more oxygen cylinders.

In his letter, he mentioned that Jalandhar district needs about four thousand cylinders on a daily basis and only 24 cylinders of Oxygen are produced in the district. He told the health department that the district needs one tanker of liquid oxygen every day. Jalandhar is also sending 400 to 500 cylinders of Oxygen daily to Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts.

Mohali: Dr Rajinder Bhushan who is in charge of immunization campaign at Government Hospital, informed that there are 60 beds in civil hospital with Oxygen supply and as such, there is no shortage of life-saving gas and we have WhatsApp groups of district hospitals, so as per need, oxygen is sent to hospitals. He also added that they have a stock reserve of oxygen cylinders.