No death due to lack of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh during 2nd COVID wave: Govt

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New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday (December 16) in what can be termed as a big statement said that no death was reported in the state due to lack of oxygen during the second deadly wave of COVID-19, reported PTI.

The statement was made by UP Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh in response to a query raised by Congress member Deepak Singh during the Question Hour of the state parliament

“No death, out of the 22,915 patients that died due to the pandemic has been reported in the state due to lack of oxygen during the second wave,” said Singh.

Raising a supplementary question, Congress leader Deepak asked whether the government had details on similar cases that were flagged by its own ministers.

"Many ministers wrote letters saying deaths are taking place due to lack of oxygen in the state. Apart from this, many MPs had also made such complaints. Many incidents of deaths due to lack of oxygen had come to light. Is there any information with the government about these deaths in the entire state? Has the government not seen the dead bodies flowing in the Ganges and people suffering due to lack of oxygen?

Responding to this, health minister Pratap said a doctor issues a death certificate in case a hospitalised patient dies. He said there was no mention of 'death due to lack of oxygen' anywhere in the 22,915 death certificates that were issued by the doctors for COVID-19 victims in the state.

About oxygen shortage issues, the minister said, “several deaths during the pandemic were due to various other diseases, including terminal ones, and that the government had arranged oxygen from other states when there was a shortage.”

Deepak also argued whether the letters written by the ministers complaining about the lack of oxygen, too, were false.

The health minister, however, could not respond to this due to the leader of the house’s intervention.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party leader Udayveer Singh said that the UP government took action against Paras Hospital in Agra because the video of a doctor there had gone viral... Half of the patients there were given oxygen and the other half died. The oxygen supply was stopped on the instructions of the district magistrate."

He sought to know when the government itself has taken action in the case, how it could make a "false statement" in the House.

In response, the minister said the district magistrate and police commissioner's investigation report mentioned a 'mock drill' in the hospital and it was during this time that the oxygen supply had allegedly been stopped.

Udayveer objected to the minister's reply saying the "truth will not change" if the government writes "extinct" instead of "death" in the certificate.

(With agency inputs)