Govt to buy 40 oxygen generators to tackle spike of Covid-19 cases

The Central Medicine Store Depot (CMSD) will buy 40 oxygen generator machines through direct purchase method to tackle the growing oxygen demand with the spike in coronavirus cases.

The move was approved in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today.

About the decision, Finance Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal has said, "It was the duty of the health ministry to take necessary initiative at the right time, but they didn't... Considering the Covid-19 situation, we have approved the direct purchase of 40 oxygen generator machines by the CMSD."

According to the health officials, each oxygen generator is capable of supplying high flow oxygen to one hundred patients simultaneously for 24 hours.

Prof ABM Khurshid Alam earlier told The Daily Star, "Those generators are portable and easy to use. We are collecting them considering further spike of Covid-19 cases, which may increase demand of oxygen supply."

An oxygen generator is a device that separates oxygen from compressed air using special selective adsorptive technology called pressure swing adsorption.