A senior official from India's federal government told journalists that there was no shortage of oxygen in Dehli or anywhere else in the country.
As he spoke, several small hospitals - only a few miles from where he stood in the capital - were sending out desperate messages about them running out of oxygen, putting patients' lives at risk.
The chief doctor of one of the hospitals - a specialist paediatric facility - told that "our hearts were in our mouths" because of the risk of children dying. They got supplies just in time, after a local politician intervened.
And yet, the federal government has repeatedly insisted that there was no shortage. "We are only facing problems in its transportation," Piyush Goyal, a senior official from India's home ministry, said. He also advised hospitals to "ensure judicious use of oxygen as per the guidelines". Several doctors say they are giving oxygen only to patients who need it, but there is not enough.
But experts say that the shortage of oxygen is just one of the problems which shows both federal and state governments were not prepared, having failed to do enough to stop or minimise the damage of the second wave.
The heart-breaking scenes that have been witnessed outside hospitals - people dying without getting treatment - shows the grim reality of India's healthcare infrastructure.
As one expert puts it, India's "public health infrastructure was always broken, the rich and the middle class are just finding out". Those who could afford it have always relied on private hospitals for treatment, while the poor struggle to get even a doctor's appointment.
Recent schemes, like health insurance and subsidised medicines for the poor, are not helping because very little has been done in decades to increase the number of medical staff or hospitals.