"The four patients who died today did not [pass away] because of a lack of oxygen, but because of their critical health condition," said Dr. Lawand Miran, director of Rizgari Hospital, at a press conference. Patients are dying every day because of the COVID-19 virus, he added.
Family members, however, say the hospital ran out of oxygen.
"Just because my mother ran out of oxygen she passed away today," Reband Sulaiman told Rudaw in front of the hospital where he witnessed the death of his mother and other patients. "This hospital has run out of oxygen since last night."
"Not just my mother, some other people have died due to lack of oxygen. Within half an hour, five people have died today,” he added.
The highly contagious coronavirus, among other symptoms, can cause extreme respiratory distress. People with severe cases of the virus are struggling to breathe, dependent on ventilators.
On Thursday morning, a delivery of oxygen for Rizgari Hospital was late, leaving the facility without oxygen for two hours.
Ahmed Mustafa, an elderly man whose wife is in hospital with the COVID-19 virus, said he bought his own oxygen. "How can the hospital run out of oxygen? With the help of my relatives, I have bought two to three oxygen tanks. We begged everyone and no one reached out to us,” he cried.
Erbil mayor Nabaz Abdulhamid said there was “chaos" today at the hospital because of the delayed delivery. His office will launch an investigation into the incident, in coordination with Sulaimani health authorities.
There is a shortage of oxygen for Kurdistan Region’s hospitals because of the coronavirus pandemic. "The number of patients who are in need of oxygen has gone up, therefore we very quickly run out of oxygen," Dr. Bzhar Musa, spokesperson of the Erbil Health Department, told Rudaw.
Before the pandemic, Rizgari Hospital needed 10,000 litres of oxygen a month, but during the current crisis it runs out of oxygen within just three days, according to the health department.
"We are facing a shortage of oxygen on a daily basis, because the majority of the patients who need oxygen are hospitalized at Rizgari Hospital," Musa said.
According to the latest data from the KRG Health Ministry, 3,903 people have been infected with the virus since in Erbil province. Of this number, 2,792 people have recovered and 113 died.
With spread of the virus not slowing down and hospitals overwhelmed, some people have bought their own oxygen supply and sales of oxygen tanks in Erbil have skyrocketed. The health ministry has already warned that they could run into a shortage of medical supplies if the Kurdistan Region continues to see upwards of 200 new cases every day.
Cases of COVID-19 have risen dramatically in the Kurdistan Region since late May, three months after the first cases were confirmed.
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