It was anticipated that the death of at least 24 Covid patients on ventilator support at a Nashik hospital on Wednesday last due to interruption in oxygen supply, even if caused by a gas leakage of the storage plant is going to be a forerunner of an inevitable national catastrophe. The following 48 hours has proved the fear correct and there have been countless deaths. If Friday began with the tragic news that 25 patients have perished at a reputed hospital in the national capital purportedly due to end of oxygen supply and while there are efforts to cover it up through ‘medical explanations’ that used the term “sickest patients”, a report that 5 more deaths have occurred in the ICU of a private hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur on Thursday night allegedly due to exhaustion of medical oxygen stock is yet another reflection of the enormity of the crisis. A few days earlier, the quantum of criticism ‘earned’ by the Covid-policy-making think tank of the country revolved around its overall ineptitude in handling the crisis that inarguably includes spiralling of cases and vaccine shortage. Now, its lack of oxygen and no one knows how many more fellow citizens will have to die in the same manner.

The great conundrum that sustains is why a nation which has no deficiency of competent persons from the medical fraternity to give appropriate advice has to face such a major health tragedy. Weren’t they properly consulted or were their suggestions thrown into the basket? The idea of selective vaccination and the ‘magnanimity’ of doling out stocks of vaccines to other countries based on the belief that corona has bade goodbye (even declarations on it were made publicly by important stakeholders) are now under scanner. The first wave taught that to save a critical corona patient, before application antiviral drugs, it’s oxygen that matters most. It’s most ridiculous that when the first signs of spike of cases were observed that marked the 2^nd wave’s onset, this aspect even then remained a secondary priority. As an immediate consequence, supply of oxygen has far outstripped demand and gaps across states are already huge and getting bigger with patient parties running from pillar to post hunting cylinders. The nation is living amid times when politics is above everything, even life. An 8-phase election timeline the campaigns of which were attended by bigwigs and marked with spill-over crowds with more than 90% mask-less and zero social distancing has taken West Bengal to the brink of disaster, its daily Covid stats say so.

Big announcements in mitigating oxygen supply across the country are being made. Hope they are implemented properly. Successive processions of deaths are too hard to bear now. 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List