Omicron scare: Medical oxygen infrastructure augmented in Delhi

Amid a spike in Omicron cases, the Delhi government has ramped up medical oxygen infrastructure to ensure the availability of the life-saving gas, according to official data.

The government has also procured 6,000 D-type cylinders. One D-type cylinder can hold 46 liters of oxygen. Such cylinders were not available in the city till May 31.

The data showed that the Delhi Transport Corporation has over 9,115 cylinders in its possession. The city also has Pressure Adsorption plants that have a capacity of producing 99.66 metric tonnes of oxygen. There were no such facilities in Delhi till May 31. The government will also be installing four more plants by January 5, 2022.

Two cryogenic bottling plants with a capacity of 12.5 metric tonnes will be commissioned this week, and these will have the capacity to refill 1,400 jumbo cylinders in a day.

Till May 31, the government had three refillers that could fill about 1,500 cylinders per day.

The national capital has been seeing a surge in coronavirus cases in the last few days with 1,313 cases being recorded on Thursday and the positivity rate crossing the one percent mark. Delhi has recorded 320 Omicron cases so far.

Delhi was hit by a brutal second wave of the pandemic in April-May, which claimed a massive number of lives daily, and the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals had added to the woes.