With 54 new Covid deaths, Nagpur district toll crosses 5,000

The day’s count of new cases, however, was 1,156, with fewer tests conducted — 4,604, — due to reasons such as Holi festival, among others. The district has been conducting over 10,000 tests daily this month, with the number reaching even 17,000 on some days.

As reported earlier, authorities have been attributing the high fatality to old age with co-morbidity, and late-stage arrivals of patients in hospitals.

The Vidarbha Hospital Association has, meanwhile, flagged the issue of oxygen shortage and price hike in a letter to the Nagpur municipal commissioner. “There is shortage of oxygen supply and there is also the issue of rise in price. But the government has capped the overall charges for Covid-19 patients. So who is going to pay for the oxygen coming at a higher rate of purchase of late? Moreover, we have also been facing shortage of ventilators,” said Anup Marar, organisation convener.

The association has also said that private hospitals will be forced to send their patients to government hospitals if they are unable to sustain the hike in charges to procure oxygen.

“Many needy patients are being transferred to GMC/IGGMC in view of either lack of needful additional equipment or non-clarity of billing additional visiting consultants and oxygen usage charges, especially for those on high-flow and ventilators,” read the letter.

Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Sanjiv Kumar, however, said, “There is no shortage of oxygen. We are getting oxygen supply from the Bhilai steel plant. A new plant is also coming up at Butibori near Nagpur. Similarly, there is no shortage of ventilators as well.”

Kumar added, “We are adding 300 more beds in the Covid ward of the Government Medical College and Hospital from Wednesday.”

After Nagpur, Yavatmal had the most deaths (13) on Tuesday, Amravati recorded two deaths while Akola had four deaths, Wardha (4), Gondia (3), Washim (2) and Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Buldana had three deaths each.