‘ Eswatini has enough oxygen, new ward at Mavuso’

MBABANE – The Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, said the country was unlikely to run short of oxygen.

This comes after some members of t he public and some healthcare workers speculated that the country might run out of oxygen soon just like it happened during the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic.

The minister said the country had 1 500 litres of liquid oxygen at the Lu bomb o Referral Hospital and would be able to refill long before hitting empty. She said those healthcare workers who were spreading the news about the country running short of oxygen were having less understanding on how the whole thing worked.

She said the country had an oxygen generation plant now that was able to fill cylinders for hospitals.

Suppliers

She said two commercial suppliers of oxygen had also not reported or indicated any pressure or problems in supplying the life- saving gas.

“Bottom line, we have enough oxygen which is why we see the lower cases of fatality than we witnessed in the second wave,” said Nkosi.

She said with the high infection rates, hospitals were indeed filling up. She said, however, to meet that, government had expanded Mavuso Quarantine Facility and established a high care ward there. She acknowledged that even that may not be enough. She said government had other spaces that were renovated during the second wave that could also be used if the need arose.

Nonetheless, the minister said the biggest challenge would be getting enough health professionals for any temporary hospital they opened.