COVID-19: Five dead at Amritsar's Neelkanth Hospital due to oxygen shortage

Neelkanth Hospital in Amritsar reported deaths of five patients on Friday night due to lack of oxygen.

Speaking to media persons, Neelkanth Hospital MD said, "Five patients have died at the hospital. We are facing an oxygen shortage for the last 48 hours."

He also alleged that the administration is providing oxygen to government hospitals first and not to private ones.

"The administration is saying that oxygen will not be given to private hospitals before government hospitals," said the MD.

Amitpal Singh Bajwa, a sarpanch in one of Punjab's villages said, "I have witnessed the whole scene yesterday night. Those 6-7 patients themselves got out of the bed to ask the staff to save their lives. Their relatives were themselves running to inquire about oxygen availability."

He believes that if such hospitals don't have the capacity to manage so many patients, then "why keep them?"

"All these deaths that occurred last night are due to their carelessness," Bajwa added.

( With inputs from ANI )