Africa-Press – Lesotho. Ministry of Health, through Lesotho Millennium Development Agency (LMDA), has awarded contracts for the construction of medical oxygen plants at Motebang Hospital in Qacha’s Nek and Mafeteng Hospital, Health Minister Motlatsi Maqelepo said on Sunday.
Medical oxygen is a critical intervention for COVID-19 and other illnesses caused by respiratory infections. It is one of the most essential medicines for COVID-19, a very effective treatment that is generally safe.
More recently, the numbers of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 and those who died has spiked considerably. “During the Christmas and New Year festivities, we have witnessed increasing infections and deaths in an alarming rate,”
Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro said earlier this month. On January 8, this year, the country reported the highest ever COVID-19 cases in a day – 819 positive cases out of 1 577 tests conducted.
It has recorded more than 6 300 Coronavirus cases and over 90 deaths. “We have awarded two contracts through LMDA for oxygen plants at Mafeteng and Motebang Hospitals.
We have established a relationship with Fox Solutions which will ensure that we do not run out of oxygen,” Maqelepo said on Sunday. Government has been under pressure recently, criticized for allegedly failing to ensure that there is reliable access to medical oxygen for patients.
In an open letter to Majoro last week, former deputy prime minister Mothejoa Metsing said he wondered how the prime minister sleeps peacefully at night, wakes up in the morning and goes about his daily routine as nothing has happened when “our people are dying because of lack of oxygen in our health facilities”.
Metsing, leader of the former ruling Lesotho Congress for democracy (LCD), wrote: “Prime Minister, Basotho are dying, maybe you cannot prevent that but what measures have you put in place to ensure that simple procedures like oxygen is not hard to access?”
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