Steel plants have reduced their oxygen stock to just half a day from 3.5 days earlier to fulfil the shortage of the life-saving gas being used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, an official statement said on Monday. Steel plants usually keep a minimum stock of over three days of liquid oxygen from which in an emergency situation gaseous oxygen is extracted and sent for steel making process. “The plants are normally required to keep 3.5 days of safety stock of LMO (liquid medical oxygen) in their storage tanks. Through continuous engagement with the steel producers, the stock has been reduced to 0.5 days because of which LMO supply has significantly increased,” the Ministry of Steel said in the statement. The steel plants supplied 3,131.84 tonnes LMO on Sunday to various health facilities across the states for treatment of COVID-19 patients, the ministry added. At 3,131.84 tonnes, the supply was over 8 per cent higher from 2,894 tonnes dispatched by steel plants on Saturday, the statement said. According to the ministry, the production on Sunday (April 25) was 3,468.6 tonnes, while the plants had produced 3,474 tonnes LMO on April 24, 2021.