Coronavirus news: Indian hospitals in oxygen SOS plea as 50% of Britons get first vaccine dose

Six people, five of them Covid-19 positive, died at a private hospital in Amritsar, north India, due to a shortage of oxygen, a medic has said.

Sunil Devgan, managing director of the Neelkanth Hospital, told The Indian Express he repeatedly asked the district administration for supplies but got “no response.”

“Every hospital is running out (of oxygen). We are running out,” Dr Sudhanshu Bankata, executive director of Batra Hospital, a leading hospital in Delhi, told New Delhi Television channel.

The government has ramped up its efforts to get medical oxygen to hospitals using special Oxygen Express trains, air force planes and trucks to transport tankers.

But the crisis is deepening, amid criticism of the ministers’ response and allegations that the scarce supplies of oxygen had been diverted by local officials to hospitals in their areas.

The supreme court told prime minister Narendra Modi’s government last week that it wanted a national plan for the supply of oxygen and essential drugs for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

AP

The US is working with India to help it deal with its second Covid-19 wave, Dr Anthony Fauci has said.

America’s top infectious diseases expert said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is engaging with its Indian counterpart agency to provide technical support and assistance.

“It is a dire situation that we’re trying to help in any way we can,” Dr Fauci said.

“They have a situation there where there are variants that have arisen. We have not yet fully characterized the variants and the relationship between the ability of the vaccines to protect. But we’re assuming, clearly, that they need vaccines,” he added.

Boris Johnson has said he is looking at what the UK can do to help India’s second wave.

“We’re looking at what we can do to help and support the people of India,” the prime minister told reporters on Friday.

He said ventilators and drugs could be sent to help India’s deepening crisis.

This video posted to the ministry of railways Twitter account shows trains transporting oxygen tanks as authorities scramble to supply hospitals in northern India.

Earlier this week, the government announced project “Oxygen Express” as hospital rations reached dangerous levels and continue to plummet.

Reports suggest some officials have been diverting supplies to their local hospitals.

Prime minister Narendra Modi has claimed Covid-19 has not reached India’s villages.

His comments came as the country reported 346,786 new cases, setting a world record for the third consecutive day.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr Modi said: “All of you, with great skill, not only prevented Corona from reaching the villages, but also played a very big role in creating awareness in the village.

“This year too, the challenge before us is to prevent this infection from reaching the villages”.

Six people from six households can meet outside in Wales from Saturday, as lockdown measures continue to be eased across the country.

The new ‘rule of six’ does not include children under the age of 11 or carers from those households and comes amid relatively low case rates in Wales.

My colleague Tom Ambrose reports:

Doctors have described scientific advice about the need to consider higher grade masks when caring for Covid-19 patients in particular situations as “a step in the right direction”.

A document from the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said FFP3/N95 masks - referred to as respiratory protective equipment - may be necessary in scenarios where there is a risk of transmission despite other controls being in place.

The British Medical Association welcomed the advice and said it is “imperative” that the government keeps to its promise to protect NHS staff as a priority.

PA

Children have been frustratingly “left behind” in the Covid-19 vaccine programme, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said.

Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, said the focus for trials has been on adults due to children not being seriously affected by the virus.

But he said he wants to "get on" and do the necessary trials in children.

While children are unlikely to fall ill with Covid-19, they do play a role in transmitting the virus.

Older age groups are being prioritised in the UK’s roll out.

PA

The prime minister should reconsider allowing foreign travel to resume next month given the coronavirus situation in India, Wales’s first minister has warned.

My colleague Chiara Giordano has the details: