A shocking video of COVID-19 patients being kept next to dead bodies in a Mumbai hospital has gone viral on social media, evoking condemnation both from the opposition BJP and Congress leaders. In the viral video, many dead bodies could be seen placed on hospital beds wrapped in bags even as COVID-19 patients received treatment next to them.
Sharing the video on Twitter, former union minister, Milind Deora, wrote, “Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isn’t @mybmc following @WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of #COVIDー19 corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai’s administration needs to step up NOW!”
Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isn’t @mybmc following @WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of #COVIDー19 corpses?
Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai’s administration needs to step up NOW! pic.twitter.com/MURUNsIyfc
— Milind Deora मिलिंद देवरा (@milinddeora) May 7, 2020
The video was reportedly shot using a mobile phone inside the Sion hospital, run by the Mumbai civic body, the BMC. BJP leader Nitesh Rane tweeted, “So the dean of Sion hospital accepts the video n says the relatives don’t come 2 claim the bodies so v hv kept them there..Wat shud v as Mumbaikers expect from the BMC after this ans? Pvt hospitals r not accepting patients n Gov hospitals r in a mess!
It’s a medical emergency !”
News agency PTI quoted Sion Hospital dean Pramod Ingale as saying that there was a delay in removing the dead bodies as their relatives appeared reluctant to take them for the fear of contracting coronavirus. He said that dead bodies had now been removed and a probe ordered.
Mumbai has become the worst-hit Indian city by coronavirus pandemic. A statement by the BMC on Thursday said that Mumbai’s coronavirus case tally had soared to 11,219 with the addition of 692 new cases. The city reported 25 more deaths in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 437.
