NEW DELHI • Sirens wailing, a police convoy escorting a tanker carrying oxygen reached a hospital in India's capital just in time, to the relief of doctors and relatives of Covid-19 patients counting on the supply to stave off death.
A dire shortage of oxygen - essential for the survival of critical Covid-19 patients - has meant states in the country are closely guarding their supplies and even posting armed police at production plants to ensure security.
Several hospitals, including Shanti Mukand in New Delhi with 110 virus patients, said they had almost exhausted their oxygen supplies on Thursday. The prospects for patients and their distraught families were disastrous.
"The hospital came to us and told us to make our own arrangements," said Mr Bhirendra Kumar, whose Covid-19-hit father was admitted 10 days ago. "We're not an oxygen company - how can we make our own arrangements?"
Earlier in the day, the hospital's chief executive Sunil Saggar choked back tears as he described the decision to discharge some patients because the lack of oxygen meant there was nothing his hospital could do to help.
Over at the hospital's oxygen supplier, Inox in Uttar Pradesh state about an hour away from the capital, a line of a dozen trucks from cities across north India waited to fill up.
Half a dozen drivers told Reuters they had been waiting for as long as three days to get their trucks filled, as surging demand from hospitals in the capital and elsewhere outstripped supply.
Mr Vakeel, who goes by one name, has been working as a driver for Inox since 1994. He said the level of demand was unprecedented. "Every hospital wants three or four times what they did before," he said.
The Inox plant has seen frequent visits from government officials and police officers, some wielding assault rifles, ensuring that there is no disruption of any kind to supplies.
An Uttar Pradesh police officer said they had been given orders to escort trucks to waiting hospitals.
Although the extra security is welcome, a supervisor at the facility said it was impossible to meet demand.
"Even if we build another five plants here, we won't be able to," said the supervisor, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Eventually, a truck left the plant, reaching the New Delhi hospital late on Thursday evening.
A crowd of relieved doctors and relatives who had gathered outside to wait for the truck's arrival headed back in.
"Some things in life are difficult," Dr Saggar said as the needle on the hospital's storage tank ticked back up from close to zero. "You have to learn to manage," he added. But the reprieve is only temporary.
"Every day is like this now," he said.
In less than 24 hours, the hospital will have to go through the process all over again, as the needle sinks back towards empty with new supplies, hopefully, on the way.
REUTERS
