Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and nodal minister for Covid-19 management Manish Sisodia on Sunday told hospitals not to raise unnecessary alarms over oxygen shortage and media to verify claims before reporting. Such acts hamper efforts to provide help to hospitals that really need help, said Sisodia.
"This morning, I got an SOS call from a hospital that had 18 kilolitres of oxygen in stock," he tweeted. He added that the hospital has a storage capacity of 21 KL and a daily requirement of 4.8 KL, implying that the hospital has sufficient stock for about 72 hours. The minister also referred to another likewise incident where a small hospital raised the alarm over oxygen shortage, but it was later found that it had been given 30 cylinders, out of which 20 were yet to be used.
"I request hospitals not to raise alarms unnecessarily. Such acts hamper efforts to provide assistance to hospitals that really need help. The media should crosscheck before reporting such cases," he added.