Delhi hospitals have enough oxygen for 6- 7 days, says Jain
Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday there is no shortage of medical oxygen in Delhi hospital and that enough stock is available for the next six to seven days. The minister’s remarks come amid reports of shortage of medical oxygen in some parts of the country.
Mr Jain also said the Covid- 19 positivity rate in the national capital has plateaued out a bit and a downward trend is expected in a week or two.
“There is no shortage of oxygen in Delhi hospitals. I took a stock of the situation. There is a slight issue, but there is enough oxygen for six to seven days in Delhi governmentrun hospitals,” he said.
“We believe that there should be enough oxygen for seven days. A few hospitals have less than that,” the minister added.
Delhi gets oxygen from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Some suppliers in Rajasthan have been told to first supply oxygen there. These issues are being talked out, Mr Jain told reporters here. He said Delhi reported 6.47 per cent Covid- 19 positivity rate on Tuesday. The average positivity rate for the last seven days stood at 7 per cent.
It was 8.5- 9 per cent in the near past. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the cumulative positivity rate has come down from 12 per cent to 9 per cent.
“The positivity rate has plateaued out a bit and there will be a downward trend in a week or two,” he said.
Mr Jain also said the government is going to appeal against the Delhi High Court stay on the city government’s order directing private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of the ICU beds for Covid19 patients. “We are very hopeful... We had issued the directions after careful considerations. The Delhi government is taking steps according to the situation,” he said.