Even as Delhi continues to struggle with the oxygen supply and other medical requirements amid a massive surge in the cases, icidents of theft of Remdesivir injection, oxygen cylinders adds more trouble to the critical situation.
In a shocking incident, the police arrested three people for black marketing of Remdesivir injection. The accused were allegedly selling the injection at Rs 40,000 per piece. During the search, Rs 1,20,000 cash and 3 injections have been seized. Besides, 100 oxymeters and 48 small-sized Oxygen cylinders were also found in their vehicle.
The three have been identified as Alok Tyagi and Abhishek - residents of Ghaziabad, and Somel Gupta, a resident of Noida. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
Given the current situation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday urged hospitals not to raise alarms unnecessarily over oxygen shortage and appealed to the media to verify claims before reporting. Such acts hamper efforts to provide help to hospitals that really need assistance, Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for COVID-19 management in Delhi, said.
"This morning, I got an SOS call from a hospital that had 18 kilo litres of oxygen in stock," he tweeted.
The hospital requires 4.8 kl a day and has a storage capacity of 21 kl, meaning it still has three days of supply left, the minister said. Citing another such incident, Sisodia said a small hospital raised an alarm over oxygen shortage, but it was later found that it had been given 30 cylinders, out of which 20 were still to be used.
"I request hospitals not to raise alarms unnecessarily. Such acts hamper efforts to provide assistance to hospitals that really need help. The media should crosscheck before reporting such cases," he added.
