Mumbai: Hospital sealed after 3 doctors, 26 nurses contracted coronavirus
In a concerning incident, Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai was shut temporarily on Monday after three doctors and 26 nurses tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The facility was declared a containment zone by BMC yesterday. Now, no one will be allowed to enter or leave until all patients test negative for the deadly virus at least twice. Here's more.
Emergency department suspended, canteen will provide food to patients
Currently, more than 270 patients and nurses are being tested. The emergency department has been suspended and the hospital canteen would continue serving food to the sick. "It is unfortunate that such a big cluster of cases have come from a medical facility. They should have taken precautions," said Suresh Kakani, the Additional Municipal Commissioner, adding that the situation will be probed.
A 70-year-old patient possibly infected nurses
Further, a News18 report said a 70-year-old patient could be the source of this mass infection. He tested positive on March 27, and two nurses who attended him contracted the virus. Thereafter dozens of nurses got infected. Meanwhile, the staff members have alleged the hospital authorities failed to quarantine the staff and didn't provide PPEs to nurses who were attending the COVID-19 patients.
Nurses weren't tested till they showed symptoms, claimed association
If the United Nurses Association is to be believed, the nurses were not removed from shifts, neither were they tested until they showed symptoms. In a combined letter, UNA and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said, "The hospital has not given nurses access to their own test reports. Many who were in quarantine in the hostel or other wards have been moved to the COVID ward."
When nurses spoke about their concerns, they got an earful
A nurse who tested positive said, "We have contracted the infection after we were exposed to suspected coronavirus patients who were undergoing treatment in a general ward at the hospital." In fact, infected nurses shared the same canteen and washrooms as the uninfected personnel, thus, spreading the virus. When nurses flagged this issue to BMC officials during an inspection on April 1, they were reprimanded.
Staff of another hospital contracted infection too
Separately, another hospital in South Mumbai, Jaslok at Peddar Road, has also turned into a coronavirus hotspot as more than 12 employees tested positive. Most of them are nurses but one guard and his wife also tested positive. Nearly 400 have given their swab samples and results are awaited. Of the 748 cases reported from Maharashtra, 458 belong to Mumbai.
