Uganda’s military started producing medical oxygen to bridge supplies in hospitals facing rising cases of Covid-19.
According to Bloomberg, National Enterprises Corp., a unit of the army, has begun output at its Luwero Industries Ltd. unit north of the capital, Kampala, army spokeswoman Flavia Byekwaso said by phone Tuesday, without providing further details.
Four oxygen plants at Mulago Hospital, Uganda’s main referral facility, produce 2,083 liters of oxygen per minute, compared with demand of as much as 70 liters per minute for each patient in critical condition, the Kampala-based Daily Monitor newspaper reported.
Mulago has 195 Covid patients in severe to critical condition, it said.
Health Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona declined to comment when asked for details about the supply and demand of medical oxygen in Uganda.
Coronavirus patients have more than doubled at Ugandan health facilities since the end of May to 920 and the country’s test positivity rate is 17.1 percent, according to the ministry.
Infections in Uganda have climbed 34 percent since May 31 to 63,099, with 434 having died since the disease was first detected in the country in March 2020.
Report by Bloomberg
