Uninterrupted Oxygen Supply Critical To Tackle Pandemic: Centre To States, UTs Amid Omicron Threat

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday reviewed the commissioning, installation and functional status of oxygen supply equipment supplied by the Centre to the states and Union Territories.

(Representative Image)

New Delhi: As concerns continue unabated regarding a surge in Covid-19 cases in view of the new Omicron variant, the Central government has said medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and its uninterrupted supply in sufficient quantity is of critical importance to tackle the pandemic.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday reviewed the commissioning, installation and functional status of oxygen supply equipment supplied by the Centre to the states and Union Territories.

Addressed the meeting through a video conference, he informed the states and UTs that the Centre has assisted them through availability of equipment, technical and financial support for PSA plants, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) plants and Medical Gas Pipeline systems (MGPS).

He urged the states and UTs to review and monitor the status of these on a daily basis to ensure that the gap between the equipment and systems delivered to the districts and installed at the healthcare facilities is reduced to zero.

The Union Health Ministry in a release said while equipment and systems have been sanctioned and delivered, in many states these have not been sent to the district healthcare facilities and when delivered, some have still not been made functional.

“State nodal officers were requested to streamline coordination with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), HLL Infra Tech Services Limited (HITES) and Central Medical Services Society (CMSS) etc. for resolution of electricity related and site related issues for ensuring quick operationalization of the entire medical oxygen supply infrastructure supplied to them,” the ministry added.

The states and UTs were during the review meeting pointed out that a total of 3236 PSA plants have so far been installed in the country from various sources with a total commissioned oxygen capacity of 3783 MT.

The ministry further said 1,14,000 oxygen concentrators are being provided to the states under PM CARES (1 lakh) and ECRP-II (14,000).