After Centre, Telangana claims no deaths due to oxygen shortage

Hyderabad: The state government has declared that there were no deaths due to the shortage of oxygen in the state during the second wave of Covid-19.

It may be recalled that the second wave had created a panic situation in the state and both the patients and hospitals had faced the shortage of oxygen beds. All private and government hospitals were full, and people had to either pull strings or wait for the bed to fall vacant.

Amid this situation, all states raised hue and cry that there was acute shortage of oxygen. The Centre had to airlift cryogenic oxygen tankers to Singapore and UAE, etc. At the state level, the government too airlifted cryogenic oxygen tankers to neighbouring states to augment the supply. There were also allegations by some families that their kin died due to shortage of oxygen while undergoing treatment for Covid.

But the state government on Wednesday is learnt to have prepared a report which it would be sending to the Centre saying that there were no deaths in the state due to oxygen shortage. This report had become necessary as the Centre on Tuesday asked all states to submit data on deaths due to oxygen shortage.

According to the government, all the Covid related deaths reported in the state were due to co-morbidity and other physical complications developed during the treatment. "There is no such case of death due to oxygen shortage in Telangana," a senior most official of the state Medical and Health department told The Hans India on Wednesday. While admitting that the state had experienced shortage of oxygen in the beginning of the second wave, however, the combined efforts of the state and the Centre helped in addressing the oxygen shortage in time, the official said. In April, when the oxygen shortage was felt, there were over 10,000 positive cases, officials said.

"Telangana required above 500 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of medial oxygen per day when the pandemic was at its peak in the state. The Centre had provided nearly 400 MTs and the T- state generated more than 100 MTs of oxygen," the official said, adding that scientific management and the supply of oxygen helped every needy patient to survive in the hospital and not a single case of death was reported due to the lack of oxygen.