Seven COVID patients died after one of the biggest medical facilities in the Pakistani city of Peshawar ran out of oxygen, Pakistan Today reported Monday.
More than 200 patients - including almost 100 with the disease - were left for hours with limited oxygen at a government-operated hospital.
Khyber Teaching Hospital representative Farhad Khan said the patients died when the hospital's oxygen vendor failed to arrive on time to refill tanks. The hospital receives its oxygen from a distributor in Rawalpindi - around 190 kilometers away, Khan said.
Patients admitted to other wards of the hospital were facing difficulties because of the absence of oxygen, reports quoting hospital sources said.
Provincial health official Taimur Saleem Jhagra said an investigation has been commenced and promised immediate action against those responsible "for this criminal negligence." Jhagra said he instructed the hospital to investigate and take action within 48 hours.
Pakistan, with a population of around 220 million, has registered 58 COVID fatalities in the past 24 hours - bringing the country's total confirmed pandemic deaths to 8,361. The number of total confirmed infections in Pakistan is almost 415,500.
The state of Pakistan's pandemic was highlighted by the Provincial Doctors Association. It said that 2,770 health officials including 1,240 physicians had tested positive for the virus so far.
The Pakistan government has enforced new prohibitions to slow the spread of coronavirus including restricting indoor dining and limiting business hours for markets and shopping malls. Many areas in Pakistan are in lockdown.
Intensive care units at hospitals are nearly full and provincial governments are struggling to meet the growing numbers of cases.
