World 10.2 million USA 2.6 million Mexico 210K+
Medical oxygen is produced using oxygen concentrators, which extract and purify oxygen from the air. However, many countries are now experiencing difficulties in obtaining oxygen concentrators as demand is outstripping supply.
The Director-General of the WHO has announced that at the current rate of infection, the world needs about 620,000 cubic metres of oxygen per day which is 88,000 large cylinders.
The World Health Organisation is working with manufacturers across the world to buy oxygen concentrators for countries that need them most and has identified 170,000 oxygen concentrators that can be available over the next six months.
75 more cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Victoria overnight. The Victorian Government has now mandated testing for all returning travellers. I’m not sure why that wasn’t done earlier. Saliva tests are now being made available. If this spike in cases keeps growing, it’s possible that some suburbs in Melbourne will be locked down from tomorrow. I hope so. People are clearly not getting the message to isolate.
I don’t live in one of these hotspot suburbs, but some of them are not that far away, which is worrying. One of the new confirmed cases is a child at the local primary school which is just around the corner from us. The school has been closed for cleaning.
I still have a residual cough and ongoing post nasal drip from my sinus infection three weeks ago, but I have started playing golf again. It’s so wonderful to be back out in the fresh air, and to actually be able to breathe it! Though the air is cold, the fresh air really helps to ease my symptoms. But if this upward trend in COVID-19 cases continues I might have to stop playing golf again.