Manaus (Brazil) (AFP)

Five trucks loaded with oxygen donated by Venezuela arrived Tuesday evening in the Brazilian city of Manaus which suffers from a terrible shortage of oxygen tanks to treat Covid-19 patients, in the middle of the second wave of contaminations.

The convoy from southern Venezuela, which brings 107,000 m3 of oxygen, traveled more than 1,500 kilometers to reach the capital of the state of Amazonas, in northern Brazil.

One of the trucks displayed a Venezuelan flag.

This donation of oxygen was made by Venezuela even though the government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro does not recognize that of Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro, whom he describes as "dictator".

After the United States, Brazil is the second country most affected by the pandemic with more than 210,000 deaths.

In hospitals and health centers in Manaus, an industrial hub of two million inhabitants, the shortage of oxygen - vital for the artificial respiration of patients severely affected by Covid-19 - has caused the death of dozens of people since the week last.

Doctors are forced to manually ventilate patients, while other patients die of suffocation.

To treat loved ones at home, hundreds of Brazilians are desperate for precious oxygen cylinders.

The current daily demand in the state of Amazonas is around 76,000 m3 of oxygen, but suppliers can only produce 28,200 m3 per day.

Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday that the situation in Manaus was a "scandal" and that Venezuela extended "a hand of solidarity to the people of the Amazon".

In response, Jair Bolsonaro joked about this shipment, without refusing the shipment.

"If Maduro wants to provide us with oxygen, we can receive it without any problem; but he could provide emergency aid to his people too, the minimum wage there (in Venezuela, editor's note) makes it possible to buy a half a kilo of rice ", ironically launched Mr. Bolsonaro Monday in front of sympathizers in Brasilia.

Venezuela is facing the worst economic crisis in its contemporary history, affected by hyperinflation and seven years of recession.

Its own health system is suffering from the situation, plagued by a shortage of treatment and protective equipment against Covid-19.

© 2021 AFP