Reeling again from COVID-19, Amazonas gets respirators, oxygen from Brazil Air Force and Venezuela

Relatives of patients hospitalised or receiving healthcare at home, mostly suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), gather to buy oxygen and fill cylinders at a private company in Manaus, Brazil January 16, 2021. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

MANAUS/BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian jungle state of Amazonas received more emergency supplies of oxygen and respirators on Saturday, as the military and neighboring Venezuela scrambled to alleviate an unfolding humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Air Force also said it had evacuated 12 patients from hospitals in the state capital Manaus to the northern city of Sao Luis overnight, with hospitals at breaking point with no oxygen supplies and overflowing intensive care wards.