Lancet report lauds Odisha’s readiness to deal with Covid

BHUBANESWAR: Prestigious medical journal The Lancet has lauded the preparedness of Odisha and Kerala for the pandemic amid the unequal distribution crisis in the country.
In an editorial, ‘India’s COVID-19 emergency’, published online on Saturday, the journal noted, “The crisis has not been equally distributed, with states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra unprepared for the sudden spike in cases, quickly running out of medical oxygen, hospital space, and overwhelming the capacity of cremation sites, and with some state governments threatening those asking for oxygen or a hospital bed with national security laws. Others, such as Kerala and Odisha, were better prepared, and have been able to produce enough medical oxygen in this second wave to export it to other states.”
Additional chief secretary (health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said any recognition for the state’s efforts will certainly encourage the frontline workers to work harder and with greater commitment. “However, we are in the middle of the crisis. Nothing should make us complacent. We have to keep taking one step at a time to reduce deaths and suffering,” Mohapatra said.
On April 22, Odisha made a special cell for oxygen supply to states in need after chief minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ever since, the Odisha Police have been making special arrangements to ensure uninterrupted and fast movement of medical oxygen from Odisha to other states. Additional DG (law and order) Yeshwant Jethwa was made the nodal officer of the special cell to coordinate action related to loading and transport of medical oxygen to states such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which have been facing deficit. Since that day, Odisha Police have helped transport of 7,722.756 MT of medical oxygen in 421 tankers from Rourkela, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul districts to other states.
The editorial also highlighted the ‘hard to comprehend scenes of suffering in India’ and recommended that the country rationalise its botched vaccination campaign and reduce transmission as much as possible while the vaccine is rolled out.