empty oxygen tank leaves military man dead

“There are times when we have to reduce the refill, so that everybody who is line can at least bring some oxygen home to their relatives.” “There are times when we don’t have enough oxygen to fill everybody’s tanks completely,” he said. Iván, an employee of one oxygen refill store who gave only his first name because his bosses hadn’t authorized him to speak to reporters, acknowledged that sometimes there were so many people waiting, desperate for gas, that they couldn’t fill all of their canisters completely. “I think about rural areas, where things are tougher, tougher, and people have to wait longer, or they really can’t afford it.” Reflecting on the problem, he began to weep softly. “The price has risen two or three times,” Ledesma said. Since then, his son - who recovered - has had to go out three or four times every day to try to refill his father’s oxygen tank. “There was no room because too many people were coming in” for treatment. “I have been taking medication prescribed by a private doctor because what happened was we went to a health center and there was no room,” Ledesma said. 16, he had to stay home - and consult a private doctor - because the local hospital had no room. Juan José Ledesma, a Mexico City retiree, got sick along with his wife and son. In a city where people are afraid to go to hospitals, and where those that will go have trouble finding a bed, it becomes a question of life and death. “We just left him disconnected (from oxygen), so he has to stay completely reclined so he won’t get agitated or have a problem, until we return with the tank,” Méndez Rojas said, noting “two weeks ago a refill cost 70 pesos ($3.50), and now it is 150 pesos ($7.50).” The city has seen a surge in coronavirus infections and the city’s hospitals are 87% occupied, straining oxygen supplies.īlanca Nina Méndez Rojas was waiting in line Thursday to refill a tank for her brother, who was recently discharged from a public hospital after contracting COVID-19. Photo by Gustavo Graf/ReutersĮlsewhere in the capital, some residents spent New Year’s Eve in lines that snaked down a street and around a corner, waiting to refill oxygen canisters for relatives suffering from COVID-19.

An employee places a piece of tape with the name of a patient with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on an oxygen tank, to be filled at a medical supply store, in Mexico City, Mexico, in mid-December.

Empty oxygen tank leaves military man dead