Centre should distribute oxygen to states on basis of number of patients, says Ashok Gehlot

Gehlot also said the spread of Covid-19 cannot be controlled until a large number of people are vaccinated

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday urged the Centre to distribute oxygen and medicines to states on the basis of number of Covid-19 patients.

He also said that till a large number of people are not vaccinated against the coronavirus, the spread of the infection cannot be controlled.

Rajasthan recorded 160 Covid-19 fatalities and 17,987 cases on Saturday, which pushed the death toll to 5,506 and tally of cases to 7,38,786 in the state.

Read more: Decision on Covid-19 lockdown should have been taken by Centre, says Ashok Gehlot

Of the fresh fatalities, Jaipur reported the highest of 54 deaths followed by Jodhpur where as many as 19 patients died, according to an official report.

In a tweet, the chief minister said, "I plead with the central government with folded hands that it would be appropriate to distribute oxygen, medicines and all other essential items to all the states based on the number of corona infected patients."

Rajasthan is a big state and allocation of oxygen and medicines is very important based on the number of infected people, Gehlot said.

"I hope that the Government of India will take a decision in this matter as soon as possible," he said, adding that the Centre should make arrangements to get maximum people vaccinated at the earliest.

"Whether it is to get vaccines from abroad or to increase the production of vaccine in India, the corona can be controlled by administering vaccine to more and more people," Gehlot said.

Of the fresh positive cases, the highest of 4,202 were reported from Jaipur while 1,852 persons tested positive in Jodhpur.

A total of 5,33,973 persons have recovered from infection and the number of active cases at present is 1,99,307, the official report said.