WHO warns of oxygen shortage
By HME News Staff
Updated Thu June 25, 2020
GENEVA, Switzerland - The World Health Organization is warning of a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of cases of COVID-19 increases around the globe. The WHO says the world needs about 620,000 cubic meters of oxygen a day—about 88,000 large cylinders—to treat the roughly 1 million new cases being reported worldwide each week, Gasworld reports. “Many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a media briefing. “Eighty percent of the market is owned by just a few companies and demand is currently outstripping supply.” The WHO says it has bought 14,000 oxygen concentrators to send to 120 countries in the coming weeks, Gasworld reports. It has identified another 170,000 oxygen concentrators that can be available over the next six months.
Comments