Kerala To Set Up Oxygen War Rooms Across State To Fight Covid Surge

Kerala is setting up oxygen war rooms across the state as India fights a frightening surge in Covid cases, which has led to an unprecedented rise in the demand of medical oxygen.

"Dedicated Oxygen War Rooms will function at state and district levels with representatives of Police, Health, Transportation, Disaster Management and PESO. O2 stock is being monitored in the Districts by Collectors. O2 module will be included in Covid Jagratha portal (sic)," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted this morning.

A committee has been set up under the Home Secretary to monitor the availability of medical oxygen, the state government has said. "Home Secretary and the Health Secretary are already working to ensure the availability of oxygen. The Secretary, Department of Industries has also been directed to liaise with the industry regarding the availability of oxygen. Vehicles carrying oxygen cylinders, medicines and medical equipment should be marked clearly to help police identify them to help them provide safe passage through traffic," the Chief Minister said.

With over 15 lakh total cases, Kerala, which reported India's first Covid patient on January 30 last year, has logged the second highest number of infections in the country after Maharashtra since the start of the pandemic. In the last 24 hours, the southern state witnessed a record spike of 38,607 new Covid cases. The positivity rate stands at 24 per cent.

Dedicated Oxygen War Rooms will function at State and District levels with representatives of Police, Health, Transportation, Disaster Management and PESO. O2 stock is being monitored in the Districts by Collectors. O2 module will be included in Covid Jagratha portal. pic.twitter.com/BoQ4tFDauW

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) April 30, 2021

Mr Vijayan has said more restrictions will be imposed in the state from May 4 to 9 to break the chain of transmission.

Despite the surge in cases, Kerala has managed to provide medical oxygen to other states too like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa. Over the last year, the state, which earlier earned praise for its handling of Covid surge, increased its oxygen availability by 58 per cent.

The state has 23 oxygen filling plants, mostly private.

In some parts of the country, however, shortage of medical oxygen has worsened the current crisis. Top hospitals in Delhi flagged the shortage of resources on social media. Distressed patients have said in several states that they've been left on their own.

Top politicians have drawn criticism for election rallies in four states - Kerala, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam - and Puducherry, a union territory, which, according to experts, contributed to the surge in Covid infections.

This morning, India saw another grim record with 3.86 lakh fresh infections, taking the caseload to 1.87 crore.

The United States, the UK, Russia, China and several other nations are sending Covid supplies to help India fight the spike.