As the second wave of the Covid pandemic continues to wreak havoc, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding medical oxygen, ventilators and vaccines to meet the current requirement of the state.
This comes as more than 37,190 people in Kerala were reported to be positive after 1,42,588 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the state already has 3,56,872 active cases of the deadly infection.
Stating that Kerala has one of the highest active cases of coronavirus across the country, the CM said with the import of oxygen now taking place, state needs the first instalment of 500 tonnes, and then it should be given another 500 tonnes in the second round.“In order to augment the storage, we (Kerala) require at least 100 tonnes of imported LMO. I request that the ministry of external affairs may be advised to allot the required quantity partly from the current tranche of imports and balance from future imports. Allotment of 500 metric tonnes (MT) of LMO from the nearest steel plant to Kerala may also be advised” Vijayan wrote in the letter.
“Taking into concern the spike in Covid cases in Kerala, we should be allocated oxygen tankers, oxygen concentrates and ventilators on an urgent basis,” he said.
He also asked the Prime Minister to allot the state with 5 million doses of Covishield and 2.5 million jabs of covaxin.
