COVID-19: Oxygen shortage costs 14 lives in Nepal's Lumbini Province

Kathmandu [Nepal], May 13 (ANI): A total of 14 COVID-19 patients, undergoing treatment at two different hospitals in Nepal's Lumbini province, died after the hospitals ran out of medical oxygen on Wednesday afternoon.
Eleven patients died in Corona Special Hospital in Butwal, while three passed away in Bhairahawa-based Bhim Hospital of Rupandehi district, Kathmandu Post reported.
One of the health workers at the Bhim Hospital told the Post, that "Covid-19 patients, who lost their lives on Wednesday, were in need of high flow oxygen supplement. But they did not receive high flow oxygen on time. We had to see patients dying in their beds helpless and hear their families' grief-stricken wails."
This news comes as several hospitals in and around Kathmandu have started turning down patients following the government's decision to cap the supply of life-saving medical oxygen.
The Crisis Management Center (CCMC) in Nepal has capped the number of oxygen cylinders to each hospital. As per the government figures, demand for oxygen at the hour of pandemic stands at 15,000 cylinders while the supply stands as low as 10,000.
The death rate of Nepal has continued to soar in recent days as hospitals around the nation face a crunch in the supply of life-saving gas.
On Sunday, Nepal recorded 88 deaths due to COVID-19 while on Monday it rose to 139, and on Tuesday it reached 225. On average, one COVID-19 patient is dying every six minutes. (ANI)