A devastating surge in โปรโมชั่นสล็อต coronavirus infections has exposed India's dilapidated health infrastructure and a deep shortage of oxygen - a key treatment for seriously ill COVID-19 patients.

AFP looks at the reasons behind the shortage:

WHY IS MEDICAL OXYGEN VITAL?

Oxygen therapy is crucial for severe COVID-19 patients with hypoxaemia - when oxygen levels in the blood are too low.

"Some clinical studies show that up to a quarter of hospitalised (COVID-19) patients require oxygen therapy and upwards to two-thirds of those in intensive care units," community health specialist Rajib Dasgupta told AFP.

"This is why it is imperative to fix oxygen supply systems in hospital settings as this is a disease that affects lungs primarily."

DOES INDIA PRODUCE ENOUGH OXYGEN?

The short answer: Yes.

Experts say the vast nation of 1.3 billion people is producing enough oxygen - just over 7,000 tonnes a day. Most is for industrial use, but can be diverted for medical purposes.

The bottlenecks are in transport and storage.

Liquid oxygen at very low temperatures has to be transported in cryogenic tankers to distributors, which then convert it into gas for filling cylinders.

But India is short of cryogenic tankers.

WHAT'S BEING DONE?

The government is importing mobile oxygen generation plants and tankers, building more than 500 new plants and buying portable oxygen concentrators.

Industries have been ordered by the government not to use liquid oxygen.

Oxygen supplies are being brought to hard-hit regions using special train services.

The military has also been mobilised to transport tankers and other supplies domestically and from international sources.