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Hospitals nearing full capacity as oxygen demand rises

28 Jul 2021

The need for oxygen in the treatment of Covid-19 infected patients has increased and the hospitals are nearing full capacity, according to the Ministry of Health. “We are seeing a higher percentage of patients with symptoms these days than ever before, and the need for oxygen has increased for the most part. Under these circumstances, it is reported that the hospital capacity we had planned for is almost filled up,” the Health Ministry’s Communications Director, the Public Health Services Deputy Director General and the Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Head Dr. Hemantha Herath told the media yesterday (27).  He added that the Delta variant makes up 20% to 30% of the tested samples from Colombo patients and that this is similar to the situation in other areas. Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) President Dr. Padma Gunaratne highlighted the demand for oxygen (O2) last week.  “The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) records about 200 Covid-19 patients per day, about 100 of whom require oxygen (O2) supply support. We assume that there are approximately 10,000 infected patients in the country, based on estimates from the currently available data,” she told reporters on 20 July.


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