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Vijayan writes to PM seeking O2 urgently
Thiruvananthapuram: With the Covid-19 situation deteriorating in the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking additional 300 metric tonne of medical oxygen on an urgent basis
Thiruvananthapuram: With the Covid-19 situation deteriorating in the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking additional 300 metric tonne of medical oxygen on an urgent basis. This is the third letter Vijayan has written to the PM in 10 days.
“We have a capacity to generate 212 MT daily but experts said oxygen demand will rise to 426 MT in view of rising cases. Besides this, a low pressure is also forming fast in Arabian Sea and it is likely to take cyclonic proportions. So we have to get prepared,” he said. Red alert was sounded in five districts in view of a cyclonic threat.
The state on Thursday reported another high recording 39,955 cases with a test positivity rate (TPR) of 28.61%. Two districts Ernakulam (32%) and Malappuram (38%) have reported TPR above 30% while in some of the local bodies in these districts, TPR is above 50%, health ministry data shows.
As active caseload mounted, the government has given directions to all district administrations to build makeshift hospital to meet the influx of patients. They have been asked to take the help of state and central public sector units in their districts. Many schools, colleges, hostels and stadiums have been turned into temporary hospital to meet the surge.
In one of the worst –affected districts in Ernakulam, the country’s largest temporary Covid-19 hospital is coming up in Ambalavayal in Kochi having 1,500 beds and direct oxygen supply from nearby Bharat Petroleum Corporation of Limited (BPCL) plant. Ernakulam district collector S Suhas said the first phase of the hospital with 500 beds has been opened to patients and it will be fully functional by next week.
“We deliberately chose the place for the makeshift hospital because of the proximity with the BPCL plant. We will have direct oxygen supply from the plant and it will save enough time in transportation and logistics,” said the collector. In several parts of the country delay in supply of oxygen cylinders and technical glitches resulted in many deaths.
“We are fighting hard to contain the surge. But this new hospital, largest with 1,500 oxygen beds, will be a game changer. We can contain fatality rate considerably in the district,” he said.
The BPCL has the capacity to deliver 2 MT medical oxygen daily and it can be raised after gauging the need. The district administration has also appointed 400 nurses and other medical workers for the new hospital.
“The high TPR is a concern but we are doing our best to bring down numbers. Cases are increasing due to presence of strong mutants and we are trying to improve the recovery rate to control the influx,” a senior health official said, adding that only serious patients who need oxygen will be admitted in the new hospital in Ambalavayal. A commercial hub Kochi has a sizeable population of workers from other states, especially from the north east.
A close look at the health ministry data shows in last two weeks there has been a steady rise in cases and fatality rate. On Thursday, 1,39, 656 people were tested out of which 39,955 tested Covid positive. The state also reported 97 deaths taking total fatality to 6,150. The active caseload also jumped to 4,38,913. Among 14 districts, TPR in 10 districts is above 20%. The state is currently undergoing a lockdown till May 16 and it is likely to be extended.
