Venezuela prepares second shipment of oxygen to Brazil

Caracas, February 5 (RHC)-- Venezuela is preparing the second shipment with 86,000 liters of oxygen for the Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas, which will serve to address the health crisis caused by COVID-19.

The president of the Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced that three heavy transport units would make the transfer to Brazil and recalled that this operation was a proposal of the workers of Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor), which has a very powerful oxygen plant.

"Thanks to the workers, three gandolas (trucks) are loading and one gandola is leaving for Roraima and two for Amazonas", said the President.

Last Monday, in an interview with Brazilian journalist Breno Altman, President Maduro announced that he was making agreements to supply permanent oxygen to Manaus," which he described as "a gesture of love."  Furthermore, he repudiated that the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, did not appreciate the goodwill of Venezuelan workers and considered his response as mean and hateful.  He added that: "All he had to say was 'muito obrigado' and that was it.  At the moment of saving lives, one has to put ideological things aside."

On January 18th, Venezuela sent six tanker trucks to Brazil, loaded with with 136,000 liters of oxygen equivalent to 14,000 individual cylinders.  Patients with respiratory deficiencies who are overflowing the health care services in Manaus are being benefited from this gesture of solidarity.

In response, Bolsonaro launched sarcastic comments about the economic situation in Venezuela.  "If Maduro wants to supply us with oxygen, we can receive it without any problem; but he could help in the emergency of his people as well.  With the minimum wage there, you can't buy half a kilo of rice," he claimed.

The death toll due to the pandemic in Brazil rose to 227,563 people on Tuesday, while the total number of infected people is already one of the highest in the world.