India experiences shortage of oxygen amid COVID-19 spike

India is experiencing a shortage of oxygen as it grapples with surpassing the global record for daily coronavirus cases.

India’s Supreme Court said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has a week to come up with a “national plan” to distribute oxygen supplies, The New York Times reported.

India set another global record for daily coronavirus cases on Friday, one day after breaking the previous record.

The country has seen more than 330,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to the Times.

The death toll also hit a new high in India, with more than 2,200 deaths from the virus in one day.

Hospitals have resorted to tweeting to the government about their need for oxygen. 

Fortis Healthcare, a top hospital chain in India, said one of its hospitals only had the equivalent of 45 minutes of oxygen left.

Fortis Hospital in #Haryana has only 45 minutes of oxygen left. Requesting @ashokgehlot51, @rajnathsingh, @PiyushGoyalOffc, @mlkhattar and @AmitShah to act immediately and help us to save patients’ lives. (1/2)

— Fortis Healthcare (@fortis_hospital) April 22, 2021

India’s health ministry is reportedly purchasing 55,000 additional tons of oxygen amid the shortage.

Factors contributing to the spikes in India are believed to include more contagious variants of the virus, as well as a lack of adherence to preventative measures such as social distancing.

India has had 15.3 million reported cases of the coronavirus and more than 180,000 deaths so far.