Gujarat: Fire breaks out at COVID Hospital in Vadodara; 23 patients rescued

Fire broke out at Vijay Vallabh Hospital, a Covid-19 dedicated hospital in Gujarat's Vadodra, on the late Wednesday night. At least 23 patients, including 17 COVID-19 patients, were evacuated to safety after the breakout. Several fire engines were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control in about one hour. No casualties were reported in the incident. However, the cause of the fire remains unknown. 

'Nobody injured' in Vadodara hospital fire

Vadodara Collector Shalini Agarwal said nobody was injured in the fire, which engulfed a portion of Shree Vijay Vallabh Sarvajanik Hospital in the Mandvi area of Vadodara city.

"All the 23 patients, including 17 COVID-19 patients, were rescued and shifted to other hospitals following the fire. No patient or any hospital staffer was injured," Agarwal added.

Night curfew imposed in Gujarat

In order to control the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Tuesday decided to implement a night curfew in 'four metros-Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot'.

“The four cities will be observing night curfew between 10 pm and 6 am starting March 17. This will continue till March 31. The pre-night curfew system will be maintained in these four metros till 16 March from 12 am to 6 am,” a statement issued by the state government said.

Under the new curfew rules, markets, restaurants, shops, malls, showrooms will have to shut down after 10 pm. This is the sixth extension of the night curfew, which came into force in November last year after a spike in Covid cases in these cities after Diwali. Among the major cities, Surat has been reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state, followed by Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot.

COVID-19 scenario in Gujarat

According to the Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Gujarat (GujHFWDept), there are 5,310 active cases in Gujarat whereas 2,69,955 people have recovered from the disease till now.” In last 24 hours, 1122 new cases reported, 775 discharged, 3 deaths reported and 61 on the ventilator. The death toll due to COVID-19 in the state now stands at 4,425,” the ministry said.