Coronavirus: Why is India facing an oxygen shortage?

 Social media is rife with requests for oxygen cylinders/concentrators as several urban centers are struggling with medical oxygen to treat patients facing a drop in oxygen saturation.

The second wave of COVID-19 has exposed flaws in India's health system as several regions report a shortage of medical oxygen. Considering there is no shortage in production, why is it that India is running for oxygen? Oxygen Emergency.

Social media is rife with requests for oxygen cylinders/concentrators as several urban centers struggle with medical oxygen to treat patients facing a drop in oxygen saturation. Now, India's daily oxygen production capacity is 7,127 metric tonnes (MT), official figures indicate.

           Until 2019, India required just 750-800 MT of liquid medical oxygen (LMO), while the rest was for industrial use. Since April 18, the industrial supply has been completely disrupted. By April 22, India's medical oxygen requirement had increased to 6,785 MT. 

Experts say only 20% of people who contract the virus have some symptoms, while only 5-10% need oxygen support. However, India currently has 28.8L active cases, which means an estimated 1.4-2.8L cases need oxygen support across the country.

India has 1,172 oxygen cryogenic tankers for road transport. Before the pandemic, the number of tankers was enough, but now they are scarce. Reportedly, the travel time for medical oxygen from the manufacturer to a patient's bed has increased from 3-5 days to 6-8 days.