Thrissur Medical College has launched ‘Prana Project’. Through the project, medical oxygen will be directly supplied to 500 hospital beds in six wards of the hospital through a pipeline. The project was designed by the doctors of the medical college. Actor and MP Suresh Gopi has made donations to this project as part of his charity work in the name of his late daughter, Lekshmi, who died in a car accident.
The actor, who has sponsored the oxygen supply to one ward of the hospital said that he wanted to ensure that not a single Covid patient dies without oxygen.
Even as several states are facing a huge demand for oxygen, Kerala has managed to ensure a surplus of the same, while providing supply to states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. According to reports, the state is currently producing liquid oxygen which is more than three times its actual requirements.
However, as Kerala is struggling to counter the surge in Covid-19 cases, the demand for oxygen has begun to rise. As per reports, the State requires an additional two tonne oxygen per day.
Till recently, around 76 to 86 tonnes was utilized in hospitals across the state, a day. Now, the daily consumption has reached 95 tonnes. According to PESO, a central government firm that handles oxygen supply, observed that Kerala might require 103.51 tonnes of oxygen per day by April 30.
As there is an increase in the number of beds with oxygen cylinders, the state has to confirm the supply of more oxygen to the hospitals. In fact, while addressing the media yesterday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that despite being oxygen-surplus, the State is not in a position to take it easy in light of the phenomenal increase in the spread of the disease.
He said the state has seen an increase of 255 per cent cases in the last two weeks. "Our priority is to ensure (enough) oxygen-supported beds and ample availability of medical oxygen. We are further going to ramp up the availability and will create buffer stocks."
