The world faces a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of worldwide cases of coronavirus infection nears the 10 million mark, the World Health Organization head said on Wednesday.
"Many countries are now experiencing difficulties obtaining oxygen concentrators," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. "Demand is currently outstripping supply."
The new coronavirus has hit 9.3 million people and killed more than 480,000 so far and is rising by about 1 million cases per week. This has pushed oxygen demand to 88,000 large cylinders per day, or 620,000 cubic metres of oxygen, Tedros said.
WHO warns of oxygen shortage as Covid-19 cases set to top 10 million
Tedros also told a news briefing he backed Saudi Arabia's decision to ban pilgrims from abroad from attending the annual Haj pilgrimage to help limit the spread of the virus
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Many countries in the region have experienced 25-50 per cent increases in cases in the last week
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