GANDHINAGAR: Thirteen COVID-19 patients died and 41 were injured in fire incidents in 38 hospitals in four cities of Gujarat in the past two years, state health minister Rushikesh Patel said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
Replying to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs Sunil Gamit and Kanti Sodha Parmar, he said fires took place in 30 private and eight government hospitals in Rajkot, Surat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in the last two years.
In Rajkot, five COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at Uday Shivanand Hospital, a designated private hospital for the treatment of coronavirus, had died due to fire in one of its wards, said Patel, adding that the kin had been given Rs 4 lakh each as compensation.
In another incident, eight COVID-19 patients died in a fire in the ICU ward of Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad, said Patel, adding that 41 other patients sustained injuries.
He said FIRs were lodged in both incidents and necessary action was taken by the police and other authorities.
He informed that the inquiry reports of Justice (Retd) DA Mehta Commission, which looked into the incidents, were tabled in the Assembly in September last year.
He told the House that most of the hospitals in these cities had either acquired the fire NOC or have applied for it after the government took a tough stand on such incidents.