On Wednesday, hours after opening Agartala’s biggest pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen generating facility, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha tested positive for Covid-19.
Taking to social media, the CM wrote, ‘I’ve been tested Covid-19 positive today. I am absolutely fit & fine with no symptoms. I humbly request all those who’ve come in contact with me to take necessary precautions’.
Inaugurating the oxygen plant at Tripura’s premier state-level referral hospital, the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital, Saha had said: ‘It will benefit patients suffering from Covid-19. Apart from this, oxygen is needed by different types of patients. We are prepared to cope with the pandemic. We are very happy that we have got the biggest oxygen plant in the northeast region’.
The establishment of the oxygen plant cost Rs 2.61 crore, and UNDP India provided financial assistance. It has an installed capacity of 1,050 LPM.
Tripura, like many other states in the nation, had an oxygen shortage in hospitals during the first Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. The state had just two PSA oxygen plants back then: one at Govind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital with a 140 LPM installed capacity and the other at a private hospital with a 280 LPM capacity. At the time, liquid oxygen was mostly utilised in Tripura for medical purposes, and the majority of it was imported from outside the state.
However, the state presently possesses 22 PSA oxygen plants with a combined capacity of 9,000 LPM, making it a state with a surplus of medical-grade oxygen.
Speaking on the state’s Covid-19 situation, the chief minister who is also a dentist said his administration is confident in its ability to stem the pandemic’s ongoing spike. But he noted that many individuals were unaware of the dangers of wearing masks and promised that the government will soon tighten its regulations in this area.
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