Oxygen shortage in India sparks demand for $1,000 concentrator machines

When health-care facilities are running short of oxygen tanks and beds, the portable machine is becoming a line of defense for those seeking to avert breathing difficulties while recuperating at home.

Raphael Koch, a retailer of medical devices in the small Swiss town of Wil, has been busy for the past two weeks fielding a flurry of phone calls. Most are from Indians or India-based companies looking for oxygen concentrators, with some even wanting as many as 500 at once.