Maharashtra recorded 58,952 fresh Covid-19 infections and 278 deaths, pushing the tally to 3,578,160 and toll to 58,804, the ninth straight day of over 50,000 new cases, even as the state began its 15-day curfew from 8pm on Wednesday.
India’s worst-hit state continues to reel under the unprecedented Covid-19 surge, with a total of 765,094 cases recorded in the past 14 days. The spike has led to a sharp rise in active cases at 612,070 — 17.10% of the total infections.
With a rising number of active cases, occupancy of beds in hospitals and Covid-19 centres is also increasing rapidly, but the state government is more worried about the lack of oxygen.
Responding to the request of the state government for providing oxygen from the neighbouring states, the Centre has allowed them to get it from places including Haldia and Durgapur in West Bengal, Bokaro (Jharkhand), Rourkela (Odisha), Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, Bellary in Karnataka, and Hyderabad in Telangana.
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The government has appointed a committee of three IAS officers for procuring oxygen, said a senior official. Maharashtra produces around 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen daily and has started consuming the entire production for medical purposes, owing to the increased demand from hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}The government has appointed a committee of three IAS officers for procuring oxygen, said a senior official. Maharashtra produces around 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen daily and has started consuming the entire production for medical purposes, owing to the increased demand from hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}“We will prefer bringing oxygen by railways, but will choose to bring it by road in 30- tonne tankers each if there is no other option left. Since some locations are too far, we have planned for it. For instance, oxygen coming from eastern states will be supplied in districts such as Nagpur, Amravati, while that from southern states will be used in Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Beed, and Nanded etc. This will reduce the travel time,” said Sitaram Kunte, chief secretary.