In January 2021, a surge of COVID-19 in Manaus, northern Brazil, exhausted hospital oxygen supplies. Reuters footage from 15 January recorded residents queueing at an oxygen factory in the industrial district to have cylinders filled. Patients could not leave beds or homes, so relatives and helpers stood in line for them.
Medical oxygen sustains life only when cylinders, filling equipment, transport and time all connect. Behind each person holding a tank was another person who could not be seen in the queue. Every step forward was tied to someone else’s next breath.