A patient said that one staff member told him that this had been done for ‘the comfort of both communities’.
File photo of a boy undergoing a swab test during lockdown to control the spread of the new coronavirus. (AP)
New Delhi/Ahmedabad: The coronavirus patients and suspected cases at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where 1,200 beds have been set aside for COVID-19, have been segregated into wards depending on their faith. While Medical Superintendent Dr Gunvant H Rathod said a ward for Hindu patients and another for Muslim patients had been created as per a state government decision, Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Nitin Patel denied any knowledge of it. .
A report in The Indian Express quoted medical superintendent Dr Gunvant H Rathod as saying that a ward for Hindu patients and another for Muslim patients had been created at the hospital that has 1,200 beds for Covid-19 patients. However, deputy chief minister and health minister Nitin Patel denied any knowledge of it, the report stated.
As per hospitalisation protocol, a suspected COVID-19 case is kept in a separate ward from those confirmed, as long as the test results are pending. As many as 150 of the 186 people admitted in the hospital for coronavirus are positive. According to sources in the hospital, at least 40 of the 150 are Muslims.
Dr Rathod said, “Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients.” On being asked the reason for such a segregation, Dr Rathod said, “It is a decision of the government and you can ask them.”
A patient was also quoted: “On Sunday night, the names of 28 men admitted in the first ward (A-4) were called out. We were then shifted to another ward (C-4). While we were not told why we were being shifted, all the names that were called out belonged to one community. We spoke to one staff member in our ward today and he said this had been done for ‘the comfort of both communities’.”
When the newspaper organisation contacted Dr Rathod, he said, “Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients.”
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