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'Only 1 state reported suspected death due to oxygen shortage’: Health ministry
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab responded to Centre's enquiry and Punjab said it recorded four ‘suspected’ deaths due to oxygen shortage.
Health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal on Tuesday during the daily Covid-19 briefing said that only one state reported ‘suspected’ death due to lack of medical oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19. The Centre sought data from all states and Union Territories on deaths due to shortage of oxygen to which only 13 states and Union Territories responded. The government’s enquiry was initiated after the issue was raised in Parliament.
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab responded to Centre's enquiry and Punjab said it recorded four ‘suspected’ deaths due to oxygen shortage.
“When the question was raised in Parliament, states were specifically asked this question and as per reports received only one state mentioned suspected death and no state has so far said that there were deaths because of oxygen shortage,” Agarwal said.
During the monsoon session, the Opposition parties raised the issue of the devastation caused by the second wave of Covid-19. The Opposition parties wanted to know as to why the government faced an oxygen crisis at several hospitals as the country was battling a deadly second wave of Covid-19.
The Opposition also sought answers from the government regarding reports of deaths on roads and outside hospitals due to lack of oxygen to which the government said that health is a state subject.
Union minister of state for health Bharati Praveen Pawar on July 20 said that no state reported deaths due to shortage of oxygen. “Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states and UTs. Accordingly, all states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported by states and UTs,” Pawar said.
(With PTI inputs)
