THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the cyclone warning and red alert in many districts in Kerala under the influence of the cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea, the state government on Thursday requested the Centre to immediately provide 300 MT medical oxygen to Kerala apart from enhancing the daily allocation of oxygen to 450 MT.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a cyclonic storm warning, forecasting heavy to very heavy rains and winds across the state on Friday and Saturday.
It is expected that there would be disruptions in electricity supply to oxygen generation plants and filling stations due to the squally weather. There can also be disruptions in road transport which would impede timely oxygen supply necessary to save lives. The current oxygen generation capacity in Kerala is 212.34 MT per day. Based on the scientific projections, the total oxygen requirement for medical purposes in Kerala could rapidly rise to 423.60 MT within the next three days. At present, the storage of oxygen in hospitals is only for less than 24 hours.
“As the state will not be able to manage the oxygen demand without assistance from the Centre, it is requested that Kerala's daily oxygen allocation may be immediately enhanced to 450 MT. It is also requested that at least 300 MT oxygen should be immediately rushed to the state from neighbouring storage points to augment the storage in hospitals in the wake of the impending cyclonic storm,” he said.
Red alert in three districts
The IMD on Thursday sounded a red alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathnamthitta warning of extremely heavy rainfall and an orange alert in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts warning of heavy to very rains on Friday under the influence of the cyclonic system over the Arabian Sea. A low pressure area has formed over the Arabian Sea, which is expected to churn into a cyclonic storm on Sunday. The storm is expected to move northward and make landfall in Gujarat on May 18 as per the current projections.
39,955 new cases of COVID-19
Meanwhile, Kerala on Thursday reported 39,955 new cases of COVID-19 from 1,39,656 sample tests in the last 24 hours with a test positivity rate of 28.61%. As many as 97 deaths were also confirmed as being caused by COVID-19 taking the total death toll in the state to 6,150. At present, there are 4,38,913 persons under treatment across Kerala even as 33,733 patients have recovered from the infection today.