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Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritise medical needs amid growing demand from Covid patients, the government said today, after more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply of the life-saving gas was almost exhausted, Reuters reports.
The world’s fourth most populous nation is battling one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, with yesterday’s 27,913 infections becoming the newest of many peaks during the last two weeks.
In a statement, the Sardjito hospital on the island of Java said 63 patients died after it nearly ran out of oxygen over the period from yesterday until early today, when fresh supplies arrived. A hospital spokesman could not confirm if all the dead had suffered from coronavirus, however.
Russia reported 25,142 new Covid cases today, including 7,624 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,610,941 (via Reuters).
The government coronavirus task force said 663 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 137,925.
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