11 Covid patients die after disruption in oxygen supply at Andhra hospital

Eleven Covid-19 patients died of asphyxiation in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Venkata Ramnarayan Ruia Hospital late on Monday allegedly due to disruption in oxygen supply, said officials familiar with the matter.

According to Chittoor district collector, M Harinarayanan, the oxygen supply was disrupted due to delay in arrival of an oxygen tanker from Tamil Nadu’s Sri Perumbudur.

“Soon after the arrival of tanker at the hospital, the oxygen supply was restored, but by that time, 11 people undergoing treatment for Covid-19 died of asphyxiation. We could prevent further loss of lives due to timely restoration of oxygen supply,” he added.

Nearly 1,000 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. The doctors could save the lives of some patients by taking up cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and pressing oxygen compressors into service.

Meanwhile, angry relatives of the deceased accused the hospital authorities of negligence and ransacked the property.

Expressing grief over the incident, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy called for a comprehensive probe into the incident and directed the officials to see that such a situation does not recur in any of the hospitals in the state.

Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu also expressed shock over the incident and demanded stringent action against the hospital authorities. He also accused the Jagan government of not ensuring sufficient infrastructure in the hospitals amid a pandemic.