Facing oxygen shortage, Pune hospital mulls moving patients to other Covid centres

As citizens are grappling with the second wave of coronavirus in the country, the Yoga Hospital in Pune is mulling to shift its COVID patients to different hospitals amid oxygen shortage. A doctor of the hospital informed that the facility has completely run out of live-saving gas.

Pune: Facing a severe shortage of life-saving medical oxygen in Maharashtra, the Yoga Hospital in Pune district is mulling to shift COVID patients to different hospitals, an official said on Tuesday.

Speaking over the issue, Dr Abhijeet Darak said that this 53-bedded COVID hospital has been treating COVID patients for the last one year. Currently, the hospital is staring at the inadequacy of medical oxygen to treat patients.

"We managed to get a few oxygen cylinders with the help of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister and treated COVID patients in the last two days. But now the situation has become so grim that we are not getting oxygen cylinders from anywhere. Due to this, we have no option but to shift patients, who are on ventilators, to different hospitals," he said.

Meanwhile, the first "Oxygen Express" carrying seven empty tankers left from near Mumbai on Monday for Visakhapatnam, where they will be loaded with liquid oxygen for transportation to Maharashtra.

With 58,924 new COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra on Monday recorded a slight dip in its daily numbers. Besides, 351 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the day, taking the death toll to 60,824. The case fatality rate in the state is 1.56 per cent.