A first shipment of medicinal oxygen arrived this Friday in Peru from Chile, which will reduce the shortage of this vital element for patients with covid-19, announced the Peruvian president, Francisco Sagasti.
“The first 40 tons of oxygen that we import from Chile are already in our territory,” the president wrote on Twitter.
Almost 200 people have died every day from covid-19 in Peru in February, four times more than in December, with the second wave of the pandemic, and the shortage of oxygen prevents treating thousands of patients.
“We appreciate the willingness of the sister country to the south to support us with this provision, which will be repeated every week throughout the health emergency,” said Sagasti.
The shortage has forced thousands of Peruvians to line up for up to four days to get an oxygen refill for a sick person.
“The first 40 tons of oxygen, of the 960 imported by the Peruvian State from Chile,” entered the country on Friday night in two trucks through the border crossing between the Chilean region of Arica and the Peruvian region of Tacna, the agency said. Andean Peruvian state.
The Peruvian Defense Minister, Nuria Esparch, “was in charge of receiving this first batch at the border post,” transported in trucks with Chilean plates and adorned with Peruvian flags, according to images published by Sagasti.
Demand for oxygen rose 200% with the second wave, according to authorities, without any increase in supply so far.
In Peru there are now almost 100,000 people with covid-19, according to official figures, of which some 15,000 are hospitalized, which has saturated health services.
This first shipment of imported oxygen will go to six hospitals in Lima and nearby cities, according to Andina.
With 33 million inhabitants, Peru registers 1.3 million infections of covid-19 and more than 45,000 deaths.