A fire at a hospital in Virar, Maharashtra, killed at least 13 coronavirus patients in the ICU. Virar is about 70 kilometers from the state capital Mumbai. “About 90 patients were admitted to the hospital at the time of the incident,” Vijay Vallabh Hospital CEO Dilip Shah said this morning to reporters.
Hospital personnel rushed other patients to safety after the crash, which was caught on video. Inside, waiting relatives and friends of patients said they had hurried to the hospital as soon as they heard the news.
“I got a call at around 3 AM from a friend whose mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital. As I reached the hospital, I saw fire engines outside. The ICU on the second floor was engulfed in smoke. Only two nurses were there, and I couldn’t see a doctor. It took firefighters about half an hour to put out the flames. We could see eight-ten bodies there,” Avinash Patil, an eyewitness, told reporters.
Rejecting claims that there were no doctors at the hospital last night, Dilip Shah said: “Doctors were present”. He also stressed that the hospital is following all fire safety norms.
The incident occurs as Maharashtra faces a second wave of coronavirus and a record number of Covid infections. Since yesterday, over 67,000 new cases have been registered. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in the world, with a combined caseload of over 40 lakh infections.
On Thursday, Maharashtra recorded 67,013 new COVID-19 cases and 568 COVID-19-related deaths.
Maharashtra, the country’s worst-affected district, is still reeling from the pandemic’s crippling second wave. It currently has 6,99,858 active cases. About 40 lakh people in the state are under home quarantine and 29,014 have been institutionalized as a result of the disease.
The state government, gripped by the pandemic, has reintroduced some stern steps to halt the spread of infection. Attendance at both private and government departments (not directly related to Covid management) is capped at 15%, attendance at social events is capped at 25%, and private cars are only used for “valid purposes,” such as medical emergencies.
