Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, medical 'oxygen' has been one of the important necessity for treating covid patients. India has been dealing with crisis as many states have been crumbling for oxygen. As the demand for oxygen is on a rise, there had been myths around that an oxygen concentrator can be used at home in case of emergency, however the Central Government has put to rest the myth and clarified that oxygen concentrators are to be used with accurate guidance from a chest physician or an internal medicine specialist only as this can be potentially harmful.
Few weeks back, the Central government had bust the myth that drinking warm water or taking hot water bath doesn't help to prevent the COVID-19 virus. It revealed the fact that a temperature of 60 to 75 degree celcius is required in lab settings to kill the virus.
Owing to the crisis situation, so far, 12,874 oxygen concentrators, 15,801 oxygen cylinders and 19 oxygen generation plants have been delivered to states and union territories (UTs). Besides these, the government said 9,925 ventilators/ BiPAP, and approximately 6.1 lakh Remdesivir vials were also dispatched between April 27 and May 18 to the states and UTs. The government has been receiving international cooperation of COVID-19 relief medical supplies and equipment since April 27 from different countries/organisations.
Some major consignments were received on May 17 and 18 from Spain, Ontario, New Zealand, South Korea, and Germany. The aid included 191 oxygen concentrators, 1,399 ventilators/Bi-PAP/CPAP, and 500 infrared thermometers. Effective immediate allocation and streamlined delivery to the recipient states/UTs and institutions is an ongoing exercise, the government said.
A dedicated Coordination Cell has been created by the Union Health Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign COVID relief material as international cooperation in the form of grants, aid, and donations. This Cell started functioning from April 26 and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been framed and implemented by the Ministry since May 2.
As India reels under the effects of the second wave of COVID-19, several countries have come forth to support the country by fulfilling the requirements of medical facilities. Countries like Kazakhstan, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Egypt, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Oman, South Korea, UK, USISPF, Finland, and Greece have extended help in the spirit of goodwill.
