Indians buy black-market oxygen as daily cases hit world record 315,000

At his gas wholesalers in the Indian city of Lucknow, Kumar’s phone rings constantly. Outside, desperate crowds are gathered day and night, begging for help. Many have offered huge bribes, anything they can muster, to secure one of the few oxygen cylinders still going spare, which represent the difference between life and death amid the vast catastrophe unfolding across India.

‘‘The situation has become very bad and there is a tenfold rise at least in the demand for oxygen,’’ Kumar said.

‘‘There is an acute shortage of cylinders, and we cannot meet demand.’’

Kumar said his company was struggling to meet its supply contracts to local hospitals, but any spare oxygen was offered to ‘‘people who are battling for life’’. Costs are soaring, however, as India’s critical shortage of medical oxygen, already blamed for scores of deaths, creates frenzied demand.

Nandan Singh, a resident of Lucknow, secured two oxygen cylinders from a welding company for 15,000 rupees (NZ$290) each, three times their usual price, after his father, struggling to breathe, was turned away from every hospital in the state capital last week.

‘‘My father was breathless and none of the hospitals would admit him, because they had no beds available, so we decided to get oxygen cylinders for instant relief,’’ Singh said. His father, however, died in an ambulance on Sunday, unable to find a hospital bed.

‘‘I blame the system for his death. If he had received medical help on time, he would still be alive with us.’’

India recorded 314,835 cases yesterday, the highest global oneday tally since the pandemic began.

With hospitals facing critical shortages, Indians are increasingly turning to the black market in a frantic search for oxygen, drugs and vaccines.

Thefts are on the rise. A lorry carrying oxygen cylinders was looted in Madhya Pradesh this week and hospitals in the central state have reported their own store rooms have been ransacked. Thefts of the anti-viral drug remdesivir have also been reported.

In Delhi, WhatsApp messages pass on names of hospitals and clinics claimed to be offering surplus vaccines for sale. Several hospitals have reported they have only a few hours of oxygen left. More than two thirds of hospitals in the capital have no vacant beds, with the government urging patients to stay at home to ease the pressure on frontline healthcare.

India’s vaccination drive, the most ambitious on the planet, has been hampered by shortages that forced hundreds of vaccination centres to close two weeks ago. More than 130 million doses have been administered but the rates have slumped over recent days, overtaken by the hospital crisis just as the government prepares to open vaccinations to all adults next month.