…As Covid-19 second wave surges
The Federal Government says all is now set for the construction of 38 oxygen plants across the country, as President Muhammadu Buhari has now approved about 17 million US dollars for the project meant to address the demand for medical oxygen.
The country’s COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed to over 1,000 infections in the last few weeks amidst a second wave of the pandemic.
Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, told a meeting of the National Economic Council, (NEC), on Wednesday that the construction of the new plants was necessitated by an increase in the number of patients in need oxygen.
In a statement, the government said it had earmarked an additional $671,000 for repairing existing oxygen generation facilities in five hospitals. The authorities have said that the situation was critical, though the number of Covid-19 patients in need of oxygen support is unclear.
Recall that Nigeria, on Thursday, recorded 1,964 infections – its highest number of new daily cases so far.