Oxygen shortage forces BMC to shift 168 Covid-19 patients from 6 hospitals

It had to be done because these six hospitals ran out of oxygen owing to the problem of limited oxygen being supplied to the BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had to shift 168 Covid-19 patients from six civic-run hospitals as these facilities ran out of oxygen, a top official said on Sunday.

Mumbai, India - April 18, 2021: Members of the Darul Uloom Faizane Mufti E Azam distribute free oxygen cylinders to the needy people amid COVID-19 Second Wave at Bhendi Bazaar. Mumbai city is facing shortage of Oxygen in many hospitals in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, April 18, 2021. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

These patients had to be moved to other hospitals early on Saturday, he said.

"Between 1 am and 5 am on 17 April, the civic authorities shifted 168 patients from Mumbai's six hospitals, including 30 from the ICUs, to jumbo field hospitals of the BMC, saving the life of each one of them," Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said.

It had to be done because these six hospitals ran out of oxygen owing to the problem of limited oxygen being supplied to the BMC, he said.

However, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya demanded an apology from the Mumbai mayor over the oxygen shortage that led to the incident.

"Shame on the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government and the Shiv Sena. The BMC was compelled to shift 168 Covid patients, including those in the ICU, as there was no oxygen in six civic-run hospitals," Somaiya said.

The Shiv Sena currently rules the Mumbai civic body.