World faces oxygen shortageThe world faces a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of global covid-19 cases nears 10 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) head said on Wednesday.
Cases are rising by about one million per week, pushing oxygen demand to 88,000 large cylinders per day, or 620,000 cubic metres of oxygen, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
He said 80% of the market is owned by a few providers, and demand is exceeding supply. The sudden rise in cases has created a dearth of oxygen concentrators needed to support breathing of covid-19 patients suffering from respiratory distress.