Center vs Delhi on death due to lack of oxygen: Mandaviya said – mailed to Delhi government 17 days ago, Sisodia said – did not ask us for death data

In the midst of the second wave of corona, there seems to be a tussle between the Center and the Delhi government over the deaths due to lack of oxygen. On Wednesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that on July 26, the Health Ministry had mailed the Delhi government. He also shared the copy of the mail and said that it is not too late, Delhi government can send the data to us by August 13, so that the answer to the question can be sent to Parliament.

On Tuesday, Delhi Health Minister Manish Sisodia had said that he had not received any letter from the Centre. The figures of deaths due to lack of oxygen have not been sought from the Delhi government. Taking a jibe at the BJP government, Sisodia had said that the states are not asked, they are not allowed to investigate and it is said that the states are not telling.

Andhra admits, Punjab fears 4 deaths
The Andhra government on Wednesday told the Center that some corona patients in the state died due to lack of oxygen. The state government said that some corona infected were on ventilator support and during this time they lost their lives due to low oxygen pressure. Earlier, the state government had informed Parliament that not a single death occurred due to lack of oxygen in the entire country.

Andhra Pradesh is the first state, which has accepted that a corona infected died during treatment due to lack of oxygen.

Punjab also spoke of oxygen shortage
Recently, the Center had asked the states for data related to the second wave of corona. News agency PTI quoted the source as saying that 13 states have sent a reply to the Centre. These include Arunachal, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Himachal and Punjab. Apart from Andhra, Punjab has also said that it is suspected that 4 corona patients died due to lack of oxygen.

The government gave its answer in the Rajya Sabha on the second wave
The government was questioned whether a large number of patients died on the streets and in hospitals due to lack of oxygen during the second wave. The written answer to this question was given by the Union Minister of State for Health, Bharti Praveen in the Rajya Sabha. Bharti Praveen had said that health is the issue of the states. Detailed guidelines have been issued to all the states and union territories regarding the death toll. No state or union territory has said about the death of corona infected due to lack of oxygen.

Health Minister had said – did not pressurize the states
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had also said in the Rajya Sabha that the Center did not pressurize any state to tamper with the data related to Corona. The job of the central government is only to collect and publish the data from the states. We have never asked any state to tamper with the data. There is no reason to do so. (Click here to read the full story…)