India's hospitals plead for oxygen supplies Another 12 people died on Saturday in the capital, New Delhi, after a hospital ran out of oxygen, reports said. Several hospitals sent out desperate appeals for oxygen on social media on Sunday night, with deliveries arriving only in the nick of time. One children's clinic in Delhi raised the alarm on Twitter over a shortage of oxygen that has reportedly left around 25 to 30 newborns and children at risk. 'There's no centralized coordination' Oxygen therapy is crucial for severe COVID patients with hypoxemia — when oxygen levels in the blood are too low. Experts say India is producing enough oxygen, at just over 7,000 tons a day. Most is for industrial use but can be diverted for medical purposes. The Indian government has now directed most of the country's supply of industrially produced oxygen toward the health care system.