At least 11 patients with Coronavirus died of oxygen supply disruption at a public hospital in Tirupati, and in southern India, the Times of India and other media reported on May 11, local time.
Local government officials told the media that the hospital’s oxygen supply was cut off for five to 10 minutes because the tanker truck carrying oxygen supplies failed to arrive on time.
At the time of the incident, about 1000 patients with Coronavirus pandemic were being treated at the hospital, and the interruption of oxygen supply caused respiratory distress in some patients. Hospital staff tried to treat patients with CPR and temporary oxygen compressors, but 11 patients died.
After the accident, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, expressed his shock and grief and offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
He also called on the relevant departments to conduct a full investigation into the incident, and instructed the relevant departments to ensure that the hospital in the jurisdiction of the oxygen supply, to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
