Some hospitals left with few hours of oxygen: Kejriwal seeks Centre's help as 'serious crisis persists' in Delhi

Amid complaints of oxygen scarcity in hospitals throughout the country owing to the massive spike in coronavirus infections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday appealed to the Centre to "urgently" provide oxygen to the national capital, saying that hospitals are facing acute shortage due to an unprecedented surge in cases. "Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen," Kejriwal tweeted.

He had earlier made a similar appeal to the central government, saying that hospitals in the national capital are running low on oxygen as well as ICU beds. In the last 24 hours, Delhi reported 240 deaths -- the highest-ever registered in a single day fatalities in the city - and 23,686 fresh coronavirus infections. There are currently 76,887 active cases in the national capital.

The national capital has gone into a six-day lockdown amid the deteriorating COVID-19 situation. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said the next three weeks are crucial with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country."Centre working closely with States and UTs on public health measures to contain COVID-19. Next three weeks crucial! At a meeting held today, UTs advised augmenting hospital infrastructure, ramping up testing, creating containment zones and strictly enforcing COVID appropriate behaviour," tweeted Dr Harsh Vardhan.