No death due to lack of oxygen during COVID-19 second wave: Uttar Pradesh govt
Lucknow(PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday told the legislative council that no death due to lack of oxygen was reported in the state during the second wave of COVID-19, a claim rejected by the opposition.
The government said the death certificates made no mention of 'death due to lack of oxygen' in any of the 22,915 patients that died due to the pandemic.
Replying to Congress member Deepak Singh during the Question Hour, Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said, "No death has been reported in the state due to lack of oxygen during the second wave."
Raising a supplementary question, Deepak asked whether the government had details on similar cases that were flagged by its own ministers.
"Many ministers wrote letters saying deaths are taking place due to lack of oxygen in the state. Apart from this, many MPs had also made such complaints. Many incidents of deaths due to lack of oxygen had come to light. Is there any information with the government about these deaths in the entire state. Has the government not seen the dead bodies flowing in the Ganges and people suffering due to lack of oxygen?"
Giving clarification, Pratap said a doctor issues death certificate in case a hospitalised patient dies. He said there was no mention of 'death due to lack of oxygen' anywhere in the 22,915 death certificates that were issued by the doctors for COVID-19 victims in the state.
The minister said several deaths during the pandemic were due to various other diseases, including terminal ones, and that the government had arranged oxygen from other states when there was a shortage.
Samajwadi Party's (SP) Udayveer Singh had earlier said, "The Uttar Pradesh government took action against Paras Hospital in Agra because the video of a doctor there had gone viral... half of the patients there were given oxygen and the other half died. Oxygen supply was stopped on the instructions of the district magistrate."
He sought to know when the government itself has taken action in the case, how it could make a "false statement" in the House.
In response, the minister said the district magistrate and police commissioner's investigation report mentioned about a 'mock drill' in the hospital and it was during this time that the oxygen supply had allegedly been stopped.
Udayveer objected to the minister's reply saying the "truth will not change" if the government writes "extinct" instead of "death" in the certificate.
Deepak also argued whether the letters written by the ministers on lack of oxygen, too, were false.
Leader of the House Dinesh Sharma said the health minister had answered the questions asked.
He said the members of the opposition should acknowledge that major casualties were avoided due to the "promptness" of the Uttar Pradesh government in ensuring medicines and treatment.
Earlier, the House proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes with the SP members raising the demand for dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence which had left eight people, including four farmers, dead in October.
SP's Naresh Uttam asked why Mishra had not been dismissed. This was, however, disallowed by Chairman Manvendra Singh.
The SP members barged into the well of the House carrying placards leading to a brief adjournment.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
