MEXICO CITY, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — With hospitals in the Mexican
capital overwhelmed by soaring coronavirus infections, relatives are queuing for hours to buy oxygen for the growing number of people fighting the virus at home.
Eduardo Martinez was waiting in line in a street in Mexico City on Friday
to fill a tank for his 55-year-old mother who is sick with Covid-19.
Fearing a worsening of the pandemic, the 33-year-old biochemist bought a
cylinder in advance and saved his Christmas bonus, which he used to pay for a coronavirus test for his mother.
Despite a partial lockdown in Mexico City, two of Martinez’s neighbors
recently died.
“Where we live, people are very reckless and stupid, they don’t wear
masks,” he said.
Some families have to return repeatedly, around the clock, for more oxygen.
“These little tanks aren’t enough, so we have to fill them four to five
times a day and night,” said Viridiana Valencia, a 31-year-old
psychotherapist.
“Here is the only place that is open 24 hours a day. It’s very difficult.”
The city of nine million people has been in a state of maximum alert since
mid-December, with more than 90 percent of hospital beds full due to soaring infections.
Non-essential activities have been suspended in the capital, which has
officially registered more than 26,000 Covid-19 deaths, out of nearly 147,000
nationwide.
Demand for oxygen has leapt eightfold in the past month, Jesus Montano,
from Mexico’s Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer, said.
Although the government offers free refills at some locations, “the big
problem is the lack of tanks,” he said. — NNN-AGENCIES