Three oxygen production plants in Ukraine have had to halt production, right when the country needs them most.
COVID-19 cases have soared across the country, hitting a grim new record of 23,785 new cases and 614 deaths on Oct. 22. Many people who are hospitalized with the disease have trouble breathing and need an external oxygen supply to stay alive.
Deputy Health Minister Ihor Kuzin on Oct. 21 told Rada TV channel that two of the country’s oxygen producers have had to stop their work for maintenance. The health ministry is searching for alternative suppliers. One day later, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said that this disruption will last for 10-15 days.
Lyashko also told journalists on Oct. 22 that a third oxygen producer in western Ukraine is experiencing technical difficulties.
Oxygen is a critical resource, Kuzin said. One of the features the Delta variant of the coronavirus that’s spreading across the country right now is that patients have a much higher need for oxygen, according to the deputy health minister.
“Work is currently underway to find alternative sources of oxygen supply in emergency mode,” Kuzin said. “And those interruptions that sometimes occur at the regional level are resolved manually.”
Shortages have already begun to affect some hospitals. On Oct. 19, the management of the Voznesensk Multidisciplinary Hospital in Mykolaiv Oblast was warned of a temporary suspension of oxygen supplies due to the fact that Ukrainian producers do not have the necessary volumes.
Lyashko said that to eliminate problems with the supply of oxygen, the ministries of health and infrastructure have agreed to buy up to 240 tons of oxygen per week from Poland.
According to the health ministry, Ukraine has 79,800 beds supplied with oxygen, which is almost 8,000 more than in April 2021.
Parts of the country have run into oxygen shortages during previous COVID-19 waves.
