Tamil Nadu Oxygen Crisis Sees Private Hospitals Say No To Covid Patients

Tamil Nadu still sees a steep and steady increase in daily numbers - over 33,000 new cases recorded on Monday and around 10 per cent of these needed hospitalisation

Five Covid patients have died at a private hospital in Tamil Nadu's Salem in the past three days allegedly due to a shortage of medical oxygen. The deaths come after oxygen supply to 30 private hospitals in Salem was cut by over 50 per cent - from 20 kilolitres to eight. Oxygen was being supplied to Salem and western parts of the state by neighbouring Kerala, which was forced to cut it off to meet its own requirements. All 30 Salem hospitals have stopped admitting patients, even though the district records as many as 800 Covid cases per day and the demand for hospital beds is high. "Oxygen has become the basic therapy for Covid cases. Since we have an acute shortage and a spurt in cases, we decided not to admit serious patients," Dr T Jayaraman, Managing Director of Kurinji Hospitals, told NDTV.