The second wave of the Covid has taken a deadlier shape than the first wave did last year. Now, the biggest talk of the country is oxygen crisis, in addition to medical equipment including ICU beds in hospitals. In response to a writ petition filed with the High Court a couple of days back, the attorney general said there was no oxygen crisis in the country. The director general of the health division echoed the same. However, the reality in the field level does not correspond to their statements. Various media have been reporting on the crisis of oxygen in hospitals and expressing fear that it will deepen in the coming days. Experts say it will not be possible to supply even one-fourth of the oxygen required for Covid patients in the days ahead unless urgent steps are taken to address the crisis. It is unfortunate that the supply of the life-saving gas for the treatment of Covid patients, despite having enough time, could not be made uninterrupted.
At the very outbreak of the pandemic in Bangladesh last year, hospitals across the country reported various crises. While most countries around the world are battling the second wave of coronavirus infections and some the third wave, our country has not made much progress in ensuring emergency services such as hospital beds, ICUs and oxygen. Many countries, including Vietnam, South Korea and Singapore, have set examples in managing the health crisis by increasing the capacities of their hospitals considering a possible worsened situation. Not only that, they have also ensured an adequate supply of oxygen, masks, personal protective equipment and other materials used for the treatment of Covid. They have proved that where there is a will, there is a way. Unfortunately, we could not.
In its guidelines, the World Health Organisation advises on determining the need for and identifying the source of oxygen. The directives further state that critical and complex patients will be treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospitals designated for Covid treatment. There should be ventilator support for the sickest patients and there should be other equipment, including pulse oximeters. But most of the hospitals in Bangladesh have a serious crisis in all these gears. In this case, the situation of neighbouring India must be taken into consideration. They also claimed, during the first wave, that they had no oxygen crisis. Now the country is witnessing horrific incidents like deaths from Covid on account of oxygen crisis. Now, they have taken steps to import oxygen from different other countries. Bangladesh, too, needs to take steps now to build its oxygen reserves as quickly as possible.
Very recently, oxygen supply from Indian sources has been stopped due to an abnormal increase in Covid infection in that country. In this case, alternative arrangements for oxygen must be ensured quickly. Oxygen supply to industrial plants should be stopped if necessary. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the production of medical grade oxygen as well as to collect, store and transport oxygen from alternative sources. In fact, Covid infections in the country have reached an alarming level since the outbreak of the second wave. Against this backdrop, if an uninterrupted supply of oxygen is not ensured, the country’s health system may collapse.
