Coronavirus live updates: Vehicles carrying oxygen to be treated as ambulance in Maharashtra

With oxygen support a key in treatment procedures for Covid-19 patients, the Centre on Monday directed states and union territories to maintain effective coordination with steel plants for oxygen procurement since steel plants provide approximately 550 MT per day oxygen in addition to oxygen manufacturers who provide 6400 MT per day.

The Maharashtra government on Monday ordered treating vehicles carrying oxygen on par with ambulances to facilitate smooth and timely supply of the gas in hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Meghalaya power minister James P K Sangma has tested positive for Covid-19 during a re-test, a senior health official said on Monday. His brother Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong have also been tested for coronavirus and the results are awaited, they said.

"I decided to report this development to my supervisor, who is also a World Health Organisation (WHO) consultant. There was no response from the WHO and my supervisor. Everyone warned me that do not cross the right line and keep silence or else I would be made to disappear," she said.

In a statement on Monday, researchers at Imperial College London and Oxford University said a trial involving 30 people would test vaccines developed by both institutions when participants inhale the droplets in their mouths, which would directly target their respiratory systems. Larger studies of the Imperial and Oxford vaccine are already under way, but this study aims to see if the vaccines might be more effective if they are inhaled.