KATHMANDU: Five people suffocated in a Nepal hospital after oxygen ran out this week, just the latest victims of a vicious Covid surge that risks devastating the impoverished country and its ill-equipped healthcare system. The five Covid patients who died this week were being treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Rupandehi in southern Nepal. Gaurav Sharda, president of Nepal Oxygen Industry Association, said that demand is outstripping production capacity. Indian travelers also flocked to Nepal to fly on elsewhere as the world restricted flights from India, until a ban was enforced. Nepal has now turned to China for help, this week sending an aircraft to pick up the first 400 out of a promised 20,000 oxygen cylinders and other supplies.

Source: Manila Times May 16, 2021 02:48 UTC