Coronavirus patients lie next to dead bodies in Mumbai hospital
At a Mumbai hospital, coronavirus patients were made to lie next to corpses, tied in plastic bags, a shocking viral video has shown. The hospital where this utter careless attitude was displayed is the Sion Hospital, which is run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Exposed, the hospital authorities didn't deny the incident but said the clip was shot 4-5 days ago.
The disturbing video was shared by BJP leader Vijay Rane who berated BMC, the richest civic body, for turning a blind eye towards patients' safety. In the clip, at least seven bodies were seen on beds as COVID-19 patients, some on oxygen support, were being treated on adjoining ones. Some people were seen roaming around in the area, dismissing rules of isolation wards.
In Sion hospital..patients r sleeping next to dead bodies!!!
— nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) May 6, 2020
This is the extreme..what kind of administration is this!
Very very shameful!! @mybmc pic.twitter.com/NZmuiUMfSW
Rane revealed the hospital mostly takes patients from Dharavi, Asia's largest slum that has become a coronavirus hotbed. "Such carelessness of medical staff and the Sion hospital could result in further spread of coronavirus infection," he said. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called it a serious issue while adding, "The question is whether Mumbaikars have no guardian. The government should take immediate action."
The incident evoked a sharp response from Milind Deora too. Deora is from Congress, the party which runs Maha Vikas Aghadi government with Shiv Sena and NCP. "Why isn't BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) following WHO prescribed protocols when disposing of COVID-19 corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand," Deora tweeted, asking BMC to step in.
While not denying the incident, Sion Hospital Dean Dr. Pramod Ingale said families of those who died of coronavirus show reluctance in taking bodies. Since most patients are in isolation, the hospital authorities have to inform police too. He said they can't start the process of cremation on their own. "We have now removed the bodies and are probing the matter," he said.
When he was asked why the bodies weren't sent to mortuary, he replied, "There are 15 slots in the mortuary, of which 11 are filled. If we shift all the bodies to the mortuary, it will be a problem for bodies of those who died of causes other than COVID-19." He claimed once bodies are packed in bags there is "no risk of infection".
Maharashtra has the maximum number of COVID-19 patients in India. The tally stands at 16,758. Over 10,000 cases have been reported from Mumbai alone and more than 400 died in India's financial capital.
