Ammon News - Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday told lawmakers that his government is responsible for an oxygen supply interruption that left 6 patients dead at the Salt Public Hospital, northwest of Amman.

Addressing an extraordinary session of the Lower House of Parliament, the prime minister said his government will address the causes of the incident and ensure that such tragedy does not reoccur.

Khasawneh stressed that the government will not try to evade or escape responsibility for the shortage of a basic medical service at hospitals amidst the coronavirus pandemic. He noted that the Judicial Council is currently carrying out an independent investigation, underlining the need for what he called an "administrative and investment revolution".

Minister of Interior Mazen Farraya, who is also the acting minister of heath, chronicled the incident before the House, saying the Public Defense Department received a call from the hospital at 07:12am that there was an oxygen shortage in the isolation and intensive care wards and arrived 18 minutes later with oxygen cylinders.

He added that the company supplying the hospital with oxygen arrived at 09:15 am but 6 patients have already died, adding that 3 more patients died after that time but it is still unclear if their death was caused by hypoxia.

Detailing oxygen supply controls, the minister indicated that the hospital is normally required to contact the supplier when tank levels reach 40 percent of their capacity and if it decreases to 20 percent, the system itself sends alerts indicating shortage.

If the tank level declines to 5 percent, Farraya added, the oxygen devices in the isolation and intensive care wards sends alerts to those in charge, but none of that was addressed by the hospital's staff.

The minister outlined a number of measures the government taken to address the matter, indicting that officers from the Public Defense Department will be present at hospitals and at suppliers and will check oxygen supply three times a day.

Moreover, a district governor will be present at every hospital, in addition to ensuring robust follow-up on oxygen suppliers for government and army-run hospitals.

Farraya revealed that the Armed Forces will launch an oxygen factory that will be able to produce 600 cylinders per month and 10 tons in April.