The Venezuelan government has sent a cargo by land that will fill 14,000 oxygen cylinders in the Brazilian city.

Oxygen pumping

A convoy of trucks loaded with hospital oxygen from Venezuela crossed the Brazilian border to continue its way to the city of Manaus, in the Amazon, which is experiencing a health collapse due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Brazilian journalist Fania Rodrigues shared on her Twitter account a video where the entry into Brazilian territory of the six tank gandolas, with a capacity of 136,000 liters, equivalent to 14,000 individual cylinders, was recorded.

This group of vehicles had to continue a journey of about 16 hours from the bordet to Manaus, a city that in recent days has seen its hospital capacity exceeded to deal with cases of covid-19. In addition, health authorities have had to refer patients to other states due to oxygen shortages.

In fact, the northern Brazilian state has registered a record of oxygen consumption for patients with respiratory deficiencies, which went from about 5,000 cubic meters per day to 76,000 (76 million litres) to supply all hospital units. So far, there are also about 2,000 inpatients.

Reactions in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Sunday night that the cargo that left his country last Saturday, by land, was already underway to Brazil. The total journey is about 30 hours by road.

"We are sending necessary humanitarian support to Manaus, we have extended our hand of solidarity to the people of Brazil, they must know that to the best of our ability we are willing to support them," said the president.

For its part, a group of workers from the state-owned company Siderúgica del Orinoco Alfredo Maneiro (SOAM) in Venezuela's Bolívar state shared a recording on their networks reporting that the oxygen they produce for Venezuela is now being shared with neighboring Brazil (free of charge).

"As a working class we are very proud to know that with the fruit of our efforts we are going to contribute to saving the  lives of our brothers and sisters with covid-19 in Manaus," they said.

Doctors going from Venezuela to Brazil to work free of charge

Previously, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, reported that a group of 107 Brazilian and Venezuelan doctors, graduated from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), based in Caracas, expressed their willingness to move to Manaus to attend to the patients. Currently, the doctors are at the binational border where they made a video.

Despite the fact that the Government of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil does not recognize President Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan Executive announced the offer of oxygen for Manaus last week, with the purpose of helping the contingency. The Governor of Manaus, Wilson Lima, thanked the gesture through his social networks.

Last Sunday, the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation (FVS-AM) reported that there are a total of 230,644 cases of coronavirus in that state, while 6,191 people have died.

Invoice for the 14,000 cylinders (136,000 litres) of oxygen, sent from Venezuela to Manaus, Brazil.

(Twitter has blocked this message from Arreaza)

Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) tweeted:
At this hour they arrive in the city of #Manaus, Brazil 🇧🇷, the first tank trucks loaded with the oxygen sent by President @NicolasMaduro to attend the health crisis caused by the pandemic. True solidarity! True humanitarian aid!

Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) twiteo: A esta hora llegan a la ciudad de #Manaus, Brasil 🇧🇷, los primeros camiones - cilindros con el oxígeno enviado por el Presidente @NicolasMaduro para atender la crisis saninaria  ocasionada por la pandemia. ¡Verdadera solidaridad! ¡Verdadera ayuda humanitaria!