Maharashtra: Lockdown Will Be Reimposed If Daily Oxygen Demand Breaches 700MT

With COVID-19 relaxations being recently announced in the state, the authorities have cautioned towards a lockdown if the need for medical oxygen breaches the 700 million tonnes threshold.

This limit was decided as the benchmark for the reimposition of restrictions on Wednesday by the state cabinet in the backdrop of lifting constraints from August 15.

Reports state that at present, Maharashtra can make 1,300 MT of liquid medical oxygen every day. With the government curating an additional 450 medical-grade oxygen plants, from which 141 have already begun functioning, the state’s capacity is expected to augment considerably.

Rajesh Tope the public health minister of the state, based on certain reports has mentioned that with the above, the production can increase by 1,700-2,000MT.

He went on to further elaborate that during the second wave’s peak the state’s oxygen need had reached 1,800 MT, resulting in them having to seek oxygen from other states. Based on certain data, the third wave’s peak will be 1.5 times higher than that of the second. Thus, the oxygen requirement could increase to 3,800 MT, a day. In light of the above, the authorities have decided to put the restrictions back into force with oxygen requirement reaches 700MT, he said, stated reports.

He is also said to have spoken about how during the third wave they cannot be dependent on other states as they too may be in precarious condition. They are looking to take the lessons they learnt during the second wave into consideration.

An official, according to accounts has acknowledged how the state was late in imposing restrictions during the second wave, with some restrictions being put into force on April 5, approximately a month and a half after the second wave began. Therefore, this time the authorities have decided on a threshold to get the restriction back. This will also ensure that political agreement isn’t needed when the cases begin developing.    

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