DailyOh! 22 dead in Nashik hospital leak, to where Oxygen came from

Wednesday looks as grim as Tuesday did; perhaps a little worse, what with Covid numbers in India sky-rocketing past 2.95 lakh and the death tally reading 2,000+. There is also a new coronavirus variant in town but we will get to that in a bit. First, the biggest news of the day (so far).

THE BIG STORY

22 Covid-19 patients at Zakir Hussain Hospital in Maharashtra's Nashik died after an oxygen leak sucked their ventilators dry. All 22 of the patients were on ventilator. The tragedy happened this afternoon when the leak stopped oxygen to ventilators. The pressure reduced due to the leak in the oxygen tank. The oxygen tank is provided by a private company. The private company looked after the maintenance of the tank and Maharashtra ministers have assured they are looking into the matter. The Opposition has demanded a detailed inquiry into the matter. But none of that has changed the fact of the matter: 22 people are dead.

22 dead in #Nashik hospital after oxygen leakPankaj Upadhyay with more details #ITVideo #MedicalOxygen #NashikHospital | @pankajcreates pic.twitter.com/BbjDnWLjkl

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 21, 2021

The oxygen leak tragedy inevitably brings to mind the Bhopal gas leak. We will talk a little more about the Bhopal gas leak today because between today and that day 36 years ago, a lot has changed. If you were to look at cold statistics though, you'd see nothing much has changed. Anyway.

THROWBACK: DECEMBER 1984

Now we know the Bhopal gas leak tragedy took place on the intervening night of December 2-3 in 1984. The immediate official death toll was 2,259 people, which later went up to 20,000. The jury is still out on the actual fatality figures. More than 5,00,000 people were exposed to Methyl Isocyanate that night; a gas that has still left traces on the people of the area.

What is Methyl Isocyanate though?

The organic compound is used as an intermediate chemical in the manufacturing of carbamate pesticides. Goes without saying it is highly toxic and an irritant. Also, it is extremely hazardous to human health. Methyl Isocyanate is colourless, poisonous and flammable.

WHERE DID 'OXYGEN' COME FROM?

Flammable also brings us to oxygen, which India currently is in dire need of. Since oxygen is what we need and what everyone needs to be talking about, we start at the beginning. What does oxygen mean? Our Word Of The Day Oxygen owes its origin to the language Greek, and French chemist Antoine Lavoisier. Lavoiser used 'oxy' which means 'sharp', and 'gene' which means 'producing' and arrived at oxygen which is the 'sharp-producing' gas. Why such a name? Because oxygen was thought essential to make acids.

Oxygen was discovered independently by two people - by Carl Willhelm Scheele in 1773 or earlier, in Sweden; and Joseph Priestley in 1774, in England. But this might take you back to all those elementary-school Chemistry lessons where we read Joseph Priestley as the discoverer of oxygen. That's because his work was published first. The gas today, as we know, is what keeps us alive.

THE NEW ESCAPIST

Coronavirus though, has been working to the contrary. B.1.618 is the new variant in town. It has a distinct set of genetic variants including E484K. It is being called a major immune escape variant. Why? Because this variant of the novel coronavirus can escape immunity - even if a person has contracted the virus earlier and can produce antibodies against it. This variant has been growing in West Bengal, according to researchers. You can read more on that disappointing story here.

In Bengal, Covid today took the life of celebrated Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh. The Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi recipient was 89 years old. He had tested positive for Covid on April 14 and was in home-isolation.

NOW, HOW TO DEAL WITH THE MENTAL STRESS

All this talk of death and devastation has been mighty draining for all of us. The news provides no respite. It increasingly looks like 2020, when the lockdown novelty was over and fatigue got to us. But the thing to remember is that we got through that too. Here's what doctors say you can do to tide over this period without losing your mind.

You can postpone losing your mind to tomorrow because Radhe, Your Most Wanted Bhai, will be here with the trailer tomorrow. Bhai hai. Dil mein aate hai, samajh mein nahi. If you still manage to make sense of the trailer when it drops tomorrow, you can catch the movie at a variety of places: theatres, OTT platforms, DTH and what not. Radhe will see a 'hybrid release' on May 13. The film stars Salman Khan, ICYMI. Eid 2021. Mark your calendars.

Toh milte hain kal...#RadheTrailerOutTomorrowhttps://t.co/NidUrCn4Zw@bindasbhidu @DishPatani @RandeepHooda @PDdancing @SKFilmsOfficial @ZeeStudios_ @SohailKhan @atulreellife @reellifeprodn @ZeeMusicCompany@ZeeplexOfficial @ZEE5India

— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) April 21, 2021

And before we leave you for the day, a recipe of Kala Chana for Ram Navami. This year, all anyone's praying for and saying is go, Corona, go.

But Corona going is still some time away. In the meantime, ensure you don't go out unnecessarily. Take the Prime Minister's advice from last evening.

Mask up. Stay safe.

See you tomorrow.

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Also Read: The vaccine emergency