LIMA:Alejandro Ccasa waited six days in a line of more than 200 people to fill an oxygen tank that his beloved uncle needs because he is infected with the coronavirus that has killed thousands in Peru.
The struggle to find medical-grade oxygen for coronavirus patients in Peru is similar to what is happening in other Latin American countries.
Now, family members are exhausted and in debt because of their efforts to find help for their loved ones.
Alejandro's uncle, Santiago Ccasa, has been using oxygen for seven days, forcing the family to spend $6,800. In Peru, the basic monthly salary is $255.
Alejandro buys oxygen from one of the few places that offers the vital element at $5.5 per cubic meter.
With the demand for oxygen spiking, resellers have increased the price six times.
The 28-year-old puts his hands together and prays to thank God for getting to the top of the queue.
Alejandro and his relatives visited dozens of distributors in search of oxygen for uncle Santiago, who took Alejandro in as a child.
Despite the effort, the oxygen in Santiago's blood dropped to 34% on Tuesday, a serious level because normal levels must be above 95%.
The 68-year-old tailor began with discomfort in the body and his health has been deteriorating day by day.
His oxygen saturation level has even dropped to 34%, his nephew said.
The oxygen demand of patients who are cared for at home and do not go to hospitals in Peru due to lack of beds is unknown.
Hospitals require about 250 tons of oxygen per day and the largest local production company barely generates 220 tons, according to official data.
Filling an oxygen tank requires not only money and time, but also mental fortitude.
Over six days, Ccasa has seen others receive calls letting them know that their relative had died because the oxygen did not arrive.
The search for the vital element has left thousands of Peruvians in debt, spending all their reserves.
Desperate, many people looking for oxygen have fallen for social media scams, police said.
Every morning the agents verify that the line in front of the oxygen distributor recently visited by Ccasa is orderly and try to kick out any resellers, who sometimes pretend to be relatives of the sick to buy cheap oxygen and sell it at a higher price.
Portable oxygen concentrators, machines that generate oxygen and have become an alternative to the tanks, are scarce and those available "have exorbitant costs," Alejandro Ccasa said.
Peru began to experience a second wave of coronavirus cases in January, which has resulted in the collapse of hospital emergency rooms.
Many people, including Alejandro's uncle, gave up on going to a hospital because he knew that he would not find a bed.
At home, Santiago was treated by a private nurse while he received a cocktail of medications recommended by a pulmonologist.
The clothing maker resisted the disease while listening to music played with a mandolin by "Condemayta de Acomayo", a Quechua-language musical ensemble from the high villages of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas.
Due to the high demand, Alejandro's tank, of 10 cubic meters, was filled to 40% of its capacity.
But while in a taxi on his way home, his cell phone rang: his uncle had been taken to a hospital emergency room. Saturation continued to decline, below 20%.
The clothing manufacturer did not resist and died.
Santiago was a man who had been born in the heights of Cusco, he ran every morning and ate healthy food, Alejandro recalled.
In less than a year more than 41,000 have died in Peru and more than a million have been infected with the virus.
In 10 regions of the country, including Lima, there is a two-week lockdown that has led to the closure of gyms, churches and casinos.
Curfew begins at 6 p.m.
AP Newsroom
Tue Feb 02 2021
People lie next to their empty oxygen tanks after camping out overnight to wait for a refill shop to open in Callao, Peru. - AP Photo/Martin Mejia
Kelantan: 70 peratus kemalangan maut babit penunggang, pembonceng motosikal
70 peratus kes kemalangan maut yang dicatat berlaku dari 1 hingga 26 April di Kelantan, membabitkan penunggang dan pembonceng motosikal.
[TERKINI] WEF | Pembangunan dunia yang tidak seimbang, Apa Solusi?
Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) di Arab Saudi merungkai masalah ekonomi dan ketidakseimbangan pembangunan yang sedang melanda dunia. Menteri MITI, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz dan Menteri Kewangan Arab Saudi, Mohammed Al-Jadaan berada sepentas merungkai masalah dunia yang memberi impak kepada semua negara.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PH, PN bertembung ketika kempen
Dua calon yang bersaing bagi PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu hari ini bertembung buat kali pertama sejak hari penamaan calon semalam.
AWANI Ringkas: 1MDB - Polis Jerman rampas 4 kereta Bugatti Veyron edisi terhad
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Gempa bumi Indonesia, Tasikmalaya paling terjejas
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang cedera dan 27 keluarga lagi terkesan selepas satu gempa bumi dengan magnitud 6.2 melanda Daerah Garut di Jawa Barat pada pukul 11.29 pagi waktu tempatan, Ahad.
Air penstabil dan pemangkin pembangunan negara - Fadillah Yusof
Air merupakan komponen penting yang bertindak sebagai penstabil dan pemangkin untuk pembangunan negara yang mampan.
Pelaburan RM2.4 bilion dibawa masuk ke Terengganu - MB
Sebanyak RM2.4 bilion nilai pelaburan yang berpotensi sedang dibawa masuk ke Terengganu setakat bulan April ini.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kelayakan akademik bukan isu calon PN - Pas
Kempen PN sempena PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu tidak akan terjejas berikutan isu yang mengaitkan kelayakan akademik calonnya, Khairul Azhari Saut.
Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat (IPR) mampu merubah graf pendapatan bulanan peserta apabila meningkatkan hasil jualan.
Piala Uber: Malaysia tewas kepada Taiwan
Malaysia memulakan kempen Kumpulan B Piala Uber 2024 mereka dengan langkah kiri apabila tewas 1-4 kepada Taiwan, di sini hari ini.
Kelaparan akut jejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas - PBB
Tahap bahaya kelaparan akut menjejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas, tahun kelima berturut-turut bahawa ketakjaminan makanan semakin memburuk.
Hamilton optimis kedudukan lebih baik di GP China
Lewis Hamilton melihat potensi kedudukan yang lebih baik dalam saingan Grand Prix yang kembali ke China buat pertama kali dalam tempoh lima tahun, hujung minggu ini.
'Selfish!' - Fasha Sandha sedih raya di Perlis tak jadi gara-gara dijangkiti COVID-19
Fasha berkata dia mula melakukan pemeriksaan COVID-19 selepas berasa tidak sihat badan dan mengalami bersin tidak henti sejak Raya pertama.
Kes COVID-19 catat penurunan ketara pada ME 14/2024 - KKM
Jumlah kes COVID-19 menurun 97.1 peratus kepada 493 kes pada Minggu Epidemiologi ke-14 (ME 14/2024) iaitu bagi tempoh 31 Mac hingga 6 April lepas berbanding 17,256 kes pada ME 1/2024.
China jadikan pengalaman pencegahan COVID-19 untuk hadapi pandemik masa depan
China akan menjadikan pengalaman dalam pencegahan dan kawalan COVID-19 untuk membuat persediaan yang lebih proaktif untuk menghadapi pandemik masa depan seperti "Penyakit X".
Negara berdepan ketirisan subsidi diesel serius - Amir Hamzah
Negara kini sedang berdepan isu ketirisan subsidi diesel yang serius dan wujud kemungkinan terdapat pihak yang tidak layak masih menikmati subsidi itu, kata Menteri Kewangan II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah.
Kematian akibat kemalangan jalan raya lebih tinggi daripada COVID-19 - Anthony Loke
PDRM akan mengeluarkan data mengenai kemalangan jalan raya pada setiap hari, bukan setahun sekali seperti diamalkan sebelum ini.
Ismail Sabri ziarah lapan beradik yatim piatu akibat COVID-19
Ismail Sabri tiba kira-kira jam 2 petang di kediaman lapan beradik itu di Taman Adenium, Bukit Beruntung pada Selasa.
Teori konspirasi 'Penyakit X'
Ahli teori konspirasi AS sekali lagi membuat 'keuntungan' selepas PBB memberi amaran tentang wabak lebih berbahaya iaitu 'Penyakit X'.
Reformasi dasar, kukuhkan perlindungan, produktiviti pekerja tidak formal
Reformasi dasar perlu dilakukan dalam usaha meningkatkan perlindungan dan produktiviti pekerja tidak formal di Malaysia.