70 tonnes of oxygen arriving in Delhi tonight

The national capital, where hospitals are seeking help on social media and patients are rushing to Punjab for treatment, desperately needs life-saving gas

The first Oxygen Express train for Delhi carrying around 70 tonnes of the life-saving gas will depart from Jindal Steel Works plant in Raigarh on Sunday night, Railway Board Chairman Suneet Sharma said. The train, with four tankers, will reach Delhi by Monday night, he added.

The railways has chalked out plans to transport medical oxygen from Angul, Kalingnagar, Rourkela and Raigarh to Delhi and NCR region, he said, adding the Delhi government has been advised to get road tankers ready to obtain the oxygen.

Every few hours, as it has been for the last days, hospitals across Delhi and its suburbs have been sending out desperate messages seeking help on social media and other platforms, flagging their dwindling stocks of oxygen.

COVID-19 patients from Delhi as well as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are rushing to Punjab amid shortage of oxygen and beds, said officials on Sunday. Many patients from Delhi have been admitted to hospitals in Patiala, Jalandhar and other places, they said. “Presently, there are 13-14 patients from Delhi who are admitted to Rajindra Hospital,” Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Satinder Singh. 

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has extended the ongoing lockdown for another week. The lockdown, which was scheduled to end at 5 am on April 26, will now continue till 5 am on May 3, he said. “We will have to watch for a few more days whether the cases decrease or increase.”

Delhi recorded the highest single-day rise in its COVID-19 deaths at 357 on Saturday as well as over 24,000 fresh cases. India on Sunday morning reported 3,49,691 new cases and a record 2,767  fatalities.

‘O2 plants in every district’

As many as 551 dedicated pressure swing Adsorption medical oxygen generation plants will be set up inside public health facilities across the country to boost availability of the life-saving gas amid its shortage in several states battling the COVID-19 surge. The PMO said on Sunday that the PM CARES Fund has given in-principle approval for allocation of funds for their installation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi directing these plants should be made functional as soon as possible. He said these plants will serve as a major boost to oxygen availability at the district level.

Social media removes misleading vax posts

The government welcomes criticism, but it is necessary to take action against users who misuse social media to spread panic and misinformation, sources from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Sunday. They said social media platforms had been asked to remove around 100 posts or URLs due to misuse and spread of fake or misleading information about the pandemic or which are communally sensitive. “We will label or place a warning on tweets that advance unsubstantiated rumours, disputed claims, as well as incomplete or out-of-context information about vaccines. Tweets which advance harmful false or misleading narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations will continue to be removed,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

1,69,60,172
Total no. of coronavirus cases in India so far

1,92,311
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India so far

1,40,85,110
Total no. of patients Recovered and discharged in India so far

14,09,16,417
(Total no. of people vaccinated so far)

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