The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval for the importation of an additional 360,000 litres of liquid medicinal Oxygen for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka.
The stock of oxygen approved for importation is in addition to the monthly general import of 120,000 liters of liquid medicinal Oxygen, which was approved by the Cabinet earlier.
The decision has been taken to ensure that sufficient stock of Oxygen can be stored within the country since the number of patients depending on Oxygen has escalated due to the spread of the new Covid-19 variant at present.
Meanwhile, Senior Consultant Physician at the Infectious Diseases Hospital Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama said the stock of oxygen produced in Sri Lanka will be insufficient in the near future.
He said 188 Covid patients were receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Units of hospitals as of Sunday night (15).
Dr. Wijewickrama said that approximately Rs. 100,000 is spent to provide all necessary treatment for a single patient, while Rs. 250,000 is spent per day if the patient is treated at a private hospital.
“Between Rs. 4000-5000 is spent on a PCR test. The number of seriously ill patients increases alongside the increase in Covid patients. The expense incurred as a result also increases. Thereby, the oxygen supply in Sri Lanka is drastically reducing with the increase in patients,” he explained. (NewsWire)