No state till now has reported deaths due to oxygen shortage, with only one informing about suspected deaths, a government official said at the Union health ministry briefing on COVID-19 on Tuesday, 10 August.
"The states were asked about deaths related to oxygen shortage. As per reports so far, one state informed us about a suspected case. All states that sent us reports so far, have not told us that they've specifically reported a death due to (lack of) oxygen," Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal was quoted as saying at the briefing.
According to sources cited by news agency ANI, it's the state of Punjab that has reported suspected deaths due to oxygen shortage.
What Centre Said in Rajya Sabha Last Month
Last month, Centre had said that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states or Union Territories during the second wave of COVID-19. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's (MoHFW) response came after a three-part question filed by Congress MP KC Venugopal in the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to a question, Minister of State for Health Bharati Praveen Pawar, in a written reply, noted that health is a state subject and stated, "Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states/UTs. Accordingly, all states/UTs report cases and deaths to Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no death due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported by states/UTs."
However, the health ministry acknowledged an unprecedented surge in the demand for medical oxygen during the second wave of the COVID pandemic.
Desperate Pleas During Second Wave
Reports claiming an acute paucity of oxygen had emerged from different parts of the country during the second-wave of COVID-19 pandemic, as social media remained inundated with desperate pleas for oxygen cylinders and concentrators for COVID-19 patients.
Many hospitals, including some prominent ones in the National Capital, had put out SOS calls for oxygen as patients with severe symptoms gasped for breath on a dwindling supply.
A number of hospitals were compelled to turn patients away due to oxygen crisis and some, across the country, even reported deaths due to the paucity.
What Else Did the Govt Say on Tuesday
At the Health Ministry briefing on Tuesday, the Centre said 37 districts across nine states are showing a rising trend in COVID cases over the last two weeks while 44 districts across 11 states and Union Territories are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10 percent.
While there is a stabilistation in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, the increasing trend of the reproduction number or 'R' value – which helps gauge how fast the virus is spreading – in some states is a cause for concern, the Centre added.
It also pointed out that the Delta Plus variant has been detected in 84 samples in the country, including 34 in Maharashtra, till now.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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