India plans 50% increase in oxygen production amid fears of third wave

India is now aiming to ramp up its medical oxygen production capacity to 15,000 tonnes per day before a potential third wave of coronavirus infections that is expected to hit the country as soon as mid-September, an industry executive said.

The target implies a 50 per cent jump from the maximum output of almost 10,000 tonnes reached earlier this year during the peak of the second COVID-19 wave when hospitals ran short of gas and relatives of patients had to search out oxygen cylinders.

Linde India supplied nearly one-third of the total oxygen demand during the peak.

Moloy Banerjee, head of Linde South Asia, said that while the government is targeting 15,000 tonnes of medical oxygen per day, Linde and other manufacturers were hoping to hit production of at least 13,500 tonnes per day ahead of the third wave.

The New Delhi government said last month it will increase oxygen production by setting up new manufacturing units or expanding the production capacity of existing units for uninterrupted oxygen supply during a health crisis.

"There have been discussions with the Delhi government since the second wave of COVID-19. We are still reviewing the policy and trying to see if it is workable for Linde," Banerjee added.

Meanwhile, India logged 38,948 new coronavirus infections and 219 fresh fatalities, the lowest in 167 days, according to the Union Health Ministry on Monday.

With the fresh cases, the total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 3,30,27,621, while the death toll has climbed to 4,40,752.

The case fatality rate has declined to 1.33 per cent after 48 days, according to the health ministry. India had reported 199 deaths in a single day on March 23.

The active cases have declined to 4,04,874 comprising 1.23 per cent of the total infections while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.44 per cent, the ministry said.