Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government has taken an important decision "to boost oxygen availability to hospitals and help people" across the country to fight the deadly second wave of Covid-19 sweeping across the country.

According to an official statement, as many as 551 medical oxygen plants will be set up in government hospitals to cover all districts across the country using the PM-Cares Fund.

"Oxygen plants in every district to ensure adequate oxygen availability… An important decision that will boost oxygen availability to hospitals and help people across the nation," PM Modi said in a tweet.

The PM CARES Fund had earlier this year allocated Rs.201.58 crores for installation of additional 162 dedicated medical oxygen generation plants inside public health facilities in the country. With the another 551 plants announced today the total number of  new medical oxygen generation plants that have now been approved by the Prime Minister's office so far this year crosses the 700 mark.

Amid nationwide surge in infections, the Prime Minister has said that these plants should be made functional as soon as possible, the official statement said.

"Such a system will go a long way in ensuring that Government hospitals in the districts do not face sudden disruption of oxygen supplies and have access to adequate uninterrupted oxygen supply to manage the COVID-19 patients and other patients needing such support," the statement said.

Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed due to the surge in Covid-19  infections. Top hospitals in Delhi have been sending out SOS messages over oxygen shortage as the demand for oxygen in the capital  has gone up by to 10 times, according to senior doctors.

On Saturday, the government said customs duty and health cess on the import of Covid vaccines and oxygen have been waived for a period of three months. The waiver includes import of equipment related to supplying patients – whether due to Covid or otherwise – with oxygen, such as generators, storage tanks, filling systems and concentrators.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday, in a televised address to the nation, had said the government was working to increase the availability of oxygen across hospitals in the country.