SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 14 February 2025, Friday |

Health Minister violates “Caesar Act” with the argument of oxygen scarcity

The Lebanese government will receive a total of 75 tons of “oxygen” from Syria in three batches, each of which 25 tons per day. The amount that will arrive is equivalent to a one day of production for the Lebanese workers. The Lebanese hospitals require approximately 83 tons of oxygen per day, or 2,500 tons per month based on what has been declared by hospitals. Oxygen consumption has increased by 150 percent from 1,000 tons per month, due to the surge in numbers of coronavirus patients. “Although there is huge demand on oxygen in Syria, the latter agreed on providing us the requested amounts, and this proves again that betting on Syria is a right decision,” said Caretaker Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan.

A source following on the production and import process of oxygen in Lebanon, told “Sawt Beirut International” that there is a “hidden stitch” behind the Health Minister’s act.  This is because Syria is no longer meeting the import needs of the neighboring countries due to the United State’s sanction and Caesar’s Act. In addition, Syria needs this production to meet its local market needs, and the quantities provided by Syrian authorities will not be enough for few hours if it was distributed to hospitals that suffer from a severe shortage of oxygen.

The source said: “If the government and the Health Minister were aware about the shortage of these medical supplies, why didn’t they set a plan for importing the required materials to avoid this problem.” He added that they were also aware about the increasing number of covid-19 infections which continues at a high rate, and the hospitals as well sounded alarm since several months ago, threatening from a severe scarcity in medical supplies.

The source added that “it is unacceptable anymore to trade with Syria, and break its isolation by putting burdens on Lebanon to violate the “Caesar Act “, especially that the oxygen quantities that will be received, as mentioned above, will vanish within few hours, so what is the price of this ‘booby-trapped initiative’.

The source said that the argument of oxygen scarcity is unjustified, especially that a shipment coming from Turkey and including 300 tons of oxygen will arrive to Lebanon within few days.  If the Turkish shipment was delayed due to weather conditions, then the government should be responsible especially in light of its prior knowledge for the increasing need of oxygen, and this problem cannot be addressed by using the phrase “No need to panic”, which worsened the health situation in the country.  As it is well known, the Health Minister have announced the first covid-19 infection, for a woman who was coming from the Iranian city, Qom, and one of the passengers on board have took photos for the travelers who were enjoying their time inside the airplane.

There are several stories related to oxygen production and the hospital’s need for this material, which indicates that there is a secret behind the Syrian grant, which is expected to be poisoned, especially that the Syrian authorities confirmed earlier their inability to meet their patient’s needs. It is noteworthy that a Lebanese businessmen owns majority of shares in one of the Syrian factories that produce oxygen,

    Source:
  • Sawt Beirut International