Zero death due to lack of oxygen during pandemic, claims Uttar Pradesh govt

The Uttar Pradesh government’s claim of
zero death due to lack of oxygen during the second wave of the COVID-19
pandemic was rejected by the opposition, reported PTI.

Also Read: BJP govt wants to sell everything that Congress made: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

The UP government maintained that the death
certificates made no mention of ‘death due to lack of oxygen’ in any of the
22,915 patients that died due to the pandemic. Responding to Congress member
Deepak Singh during the Question Hour in the assembly, state health minister Jai Pratap Singh
said, “No death has been reported in the state due to lack of oxygen
during the second wave.”

Congress raises questions

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

Also Read: 25 Omicron cases in India so far, all have ‘mild symptoms’: Centre

“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?”

Also Read: India reports 7,974 new COVID cases, 343 deaths in last 24 hours

Clarifying the matter of death certificate,
Jai 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.

‘Deaths due to other diseases’ 

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.

Also Read: Read: PM Narendra Modi’s top 5 quotes from his Varanasi speech

Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Udayveer Singh had
earlier said, “The Uttar Pradesh 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. Oxygen supply was
stopped on the instructions of the district magistrate.”

Also Read: PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi: Key highlights

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

Also Read: Last batch of farmers to leave Uttar Pradesh Gate protest site at Ghazipur today

Udayveer objected to the minister’s reply
saying the “truth will not change” if the government writes
“extinct” instead of “death” in the certificate. Deepak
also argued whether the letters written by the ministers on lack of oxygen,
too, were false. Leader of the House Dinesh Sharma said the health minister had
answered the questions asked.

He said the members of the opposition
should acknowledge that major casualties were avoided due to the
“promptness” of the Uttar Pradesh government in ensuring medicines
and treatment.