Oxygen war room to be set up in Visakhapatnam due to spike in Covid cases

Visakhapatnam District Joint Collector and Additional District Magistrate, M. Venu Gopal Reddy IAS, has directed authorities to stock up oxygen cylinders, and ensure that there is no shortage of oxygen cylinders in the hospitals. On Monday 17 January, 2022 the Joint Collector held a review meeting at the District Collectorate with the authorities on this matter. The Joint Collector also stated that a district-level oxygen war room would be set up in the Visakhapatnam Collectorate.  The authorities will be monitoring the oxygen production requirements from time to time and take necessary decisions.

The Joint Collector said that in view of the past experiences, appropriate measures must be taken to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen cylinders to the concerned hospitals. The Oxygen war room will consist of the Joint Collector (Revenue and Civil Supplies), the District Transport Officials, an Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) rank officer, a Deputy Director (Industries), the District Coordinator of Health Services (DCHS), the Assistant Director (Drug Control), the District IMA President and few others as nodal officers in Visakhapatnam. Every COVID-19 hospital will have well-trained teams, called Oxygen Savers, who will monitor the oxygen consumption at the hospitals. During the transportation of oxygen tanks, the teams will also be equipped with a GPS tracking system.

It was updated that oxygen concentrators, LMO (Liquid Medical Oxygen) tanks, and D-type cylinders are available at a required level and there is no problem with the oxygen fillers. The Joint Collector asked the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO), Dr S. Vijaya Lakshmi, to take stock of the occupied beds, including the ICU beds and ventilators from all the hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in the district.

Due to the surge in the COVID 19 cases across the city, the District Joint Collector has instructed the authorities to stay alert and be prepared to face any situation. All the necessary measures are being taken.