Delhi's COVID hospitals have been gasping for oxygen. Some have enough to last three hours, some have two hours, and some even less than that.
As Delhi reports 24,638 new cases and 249 deaths on 22 April, unequal demand and supply of oxygen has made this a coveted medical essential. Although there hasn't been any large-scale disaster so far, due to last minute interventions, the city is standing on the very edge of this crisis, with more and more Delhi hospitals running low on oxygen everyday.
On 21 April, for instance, state Health Minister Satyendra Jain had to appeal to the Centre on Twitter, to help with oxygen provisions, claiming that GTB hospital had only a few hours' worth of supply left. The arrival of an oxygen tanker just at the nick of time averted a crisis.
The same day in Ganga Ram Hospital, where 120 patients on ICU beds was running out of oxygen, a last-minute supply of oxygen prevented this crisis from spiralling out of control.