Oxygen Cylinders Demand Rises in Kenyan Hospitals
There is current shortage of oxygen cylinders, yet the demand is increasing.The demand is currently 880 tonnes while only 16 percent are available in public hospitals.
Anne Mwangi 
"However, some of these plants face a number of challenges including production of oxygen with lower-than-recommended concentration levels." Mutahi Kagwe said.
“Aware that oxygen was going to be a critical factor in our Covid-19 response, we set up an oxygen task team from the deliberations of a Covid-19 taskforce committee meeting in July last year,” he added.
CS Kagwe has ordered citizens and institutions with idle oxygen cylinders to return them to hospitals for emergency purpose.The demand is currently 880 tonnes, he said, and urged those hoarding the cylinders to return them to manufactures so they can be filled and used in hospitals.Currently, the country has 73 oxygen plants in both national and county facilities across the country.
"Majority of these service one to three units within a facility," Mr Kagwe said. The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICU) rose to 137. Thirty six of them on ventilatory support, 91 on supplemental oxygen while are 10 under observation. It has also been reported that the number of hospitalized patients has risen to 1, 270 and that at least 4,620 people were under home-based isolation and care
