People line up to fill oxygen tanks at a government certified private provider in Mexico City on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. With hospitals overrun, Mexicans fighting the coronavirus at home face a deadly hurdle: a lack of oxygen tanks. Organized criminal groups began hijacking trucks filled with oxygen tanks, or stealing them at gunpoint from hospitals, according to media reports. Part of the reason so many more people are dying now, doctors and government officials say, is the shortage: There are simply not enough oxygen tanks. The government has sent the Mexican National Guard to protect trucks transporting oxygen tanks and required suppliers to prioritize oxygen produced for human consumption over industrial oxygen used by companies.

Source: Indian Express February 10, 2021 05:03 UTC