Coronavirus: Peru in desperate search for oxygen

Text by: RFI Follow

The second Latin American country most affected by the coronavirus epidemic (with more than 180,000 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths), Peru is currently facing a shortage of medical oxygen. This problem, which until now mainly concerned the Loreto region, in the Peruvian Amazon, today affects hospitals in the capital. As a result, the families of patients affected by Covid-19 are forced to obtain it for themselves, while the prices of oxygen cylinders soar.

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“  I need an oxygen cylinder for my mother. There are no longer any rentals, so I'm coming to see if I can buy one here,  ”says this young woman, to our correspondent in Lima, Wyloën Munhoz-Boillot . Hundreds, like her, rush to specialized stores in Lima, looking for oxygen for their loved ones suffering from the coronavirus.

Because in Peru, the situation is such that even hospitals are running out of oxygen, which has become a scarce commodity, as this trader explains. "  No one has any oxygen left. I sell the bottles, but without the refill, because the suppliers no longer supply us.  "

Since the start of the epidemic in Peru, demand for oxygen has increased by 40%. The shortage first hit settlements in the Peruvian Amazon, then reached the capital Lima and the nearby port of Callao, where 10 of the 33 million Peruvians live.

This week, Prime Minister Vicente Zeballos announced that Peru has reached the maximum of its production capacity for medical oxygen. But this remains insufficient. As a result, prices have increased tenfold, as this desperate customer saw. “  The 10 cubic meter bottle costs 1,300 euros and to fill it you have to count an additional 450 euros. They are full of pockets!  "

To deal with this situation, the Peruvian executive published this Thursday 'June an emergency decree making oxygen a strategic resource for health. This decree makes its medical use priority over industrial uses. In parallel, the government also announced the import of oxygen from neighboring countries.

► Read also : Latin America, the new epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic

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• Coronavirus
• Peru