Deputy Minister of Health of Argentina, Arnaldo Medina, described the aid as a continuation of the collaboration between Argentina and Bolivia.  | Photo: Twitter @XPeriodismo

Buenos Aires, February 7 (RHC)-- The first tanker with 8,000 cubic meters of medical oxygen arrived in the capital of the department of Tarija, in southern Bolivia, from Argentina, official sources reported.  In view of the production problems that caused the shortage in the supply of oxygen in Tarija, the Bolivian government expressed his thanks for the help of Argentina, for the provision of this vital input for the patients of COVID-19. 

The Bolivian foreign ministry reported that a tanker with eight thousand cubic meters of medical oxygen has arrived in the city of Tarija from Argentina, after negotiations were made with that country to receive help in view of the shortage of the supply.

The oxygen arrived after there was concern in Tarija regarding the lack of oxygen for COVID-19 patients.   According to the foreign ministry, the shortage was due to the fact that the company that supplies the element to the hospital of the Caja Nacional de Salud stopped producing it due to technical problems. 

To solve this emergency, the Bolivian government arranged for Argentinean help, which arrived through an oxygen producing company from the north of that country.

The Deputy Minister of Health of Argentina, Arnaldo Medina, described the aid as a continuation of the collaboration between the governments of his country and Bolivia since the inauguration of President Luis Arce.  "In the face of this difficulty the world is experiencing, in this pandemic, it is very important that sister nations, so close from a physical, social, political and cultural point of view, are permanently willing to lend a hand and collaborate, especially in those places close to the border that require humanitarian aid," he said.

The first shipment left Tucumán, 730 kilometers from the capital of Tarija, on Wednesday, February 3, around 18:00 Argentinean time, and entered Bolivia through Bermejo on Thursday 4, informed Marcos Salinas, Director of the Cascia Gases company.  On Monday, another shipment will leave from Argentina.