Peruvian Health Minister Oscar Ugarte, who was sworn in on February 13 in the wake of a vaccine scandal the country’s vaccine scandal, announced this week that a total of 40 tons of oxygen tanks will arrive from Chile this weekend.
The shipment is expected to leave the Chilean city of Antofagasta on Friday, and supplies will mostly be distributed “in Andean and coastal regions,” said Mr. Ugarte, mentioning that these poorer locations have been the most affected by oxygen shortages.
With one of the highest per capita coronavirus death rates in Latin America, Peru suffered an oxygen shortage in January, similar to the one seen in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus. Demand for supplies increased by 300 percent. Besides importing from other countries, Peru is also setting up new oxygen factories to avoid further crises.
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