NEW DELHI:  Almost 20 times jump in the number of Covid-19 patients needing oxygen support over the last three months coupled with supply issues has triggered a near scramble in several states as the active cases in the country are now just short of 1 million.

As per the data shared by the Centre, the number of Covid-19 patients needing oxygen on Tuesday was 5.94% (58,809) of 9,90,061.

This includes patients on ventilators, ICU or only on oxygen support. In comparison, the number of patients requiring the medical supply was less than 3,000 on May 7, when the number of active cases in India was 35,902.

Doctors worldwide have found that high oxygen therapy could be real life-saver. In India, hospitals are struggling to ensure its availability for thousands hanging between life and death.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan denied that there was a shortage of medical oxygen.

“We have, therefore, a headroom of about 1,900 MT oxygen per day as of now, but there are issues with inventory management at the hospital level,” he said.