The novel coronavirus outbreak in India recently took a communal sound when reports surfaced that the supporters of the Islamic missionary movement became the source of almost 30 per cent of the total COVID-19 infections in the nation. The central government warned that it was no time for fault-finding, but now it has been seen that a hospital in Ahmedabad is dividing wards based on religion.
According to reports, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital in Ahmedabad in Gujarat added that wards for Hindu patients and another for Muslim patients had been created as per instructions from the government.
"Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients. It is a decision of the government, and you can ask them," Dr Gunvant H Rathod, Medical Superintendent quoted to The Indian Express.
But when asked about this, the Deputy Chief Minister along with Health Minister Nitin Patel said that he's not aware of any such decision. Ahmedabad Collector KK Nirala also denied any knowledge of the subject.
Administration 'clueless'
"Generally, there are separate wards for males and females. I will inquire about it," Patel said.
Usually, wards in the hospital are split based on gender. There are separate wards for male and female patients, but this is something bizarre. As soon as the news was out on social media platforms, many users were outraged.
Reports suggest that over 50 per cent of Ahmedabad cases have emerged from the minority pockets. A doctor who didn't wish to be named spoke to The Hindu. The doctor said that since most patients from the majority community weren't comfortable being in the same ward with the minority, the hospital segregated them on a temporary basis.
The news report led to a trending topic on Twitter as well as many expressed their anger over the division along communal lines in the fight against a pandemic.
Meanwhile,
Over 12,000 people have been infected in the country, and 400+ have lost their lives. The global damage remains a matter of concern. Over two million have been infected, and close to 1.3 lakh, people have lost their lives.
Countries like the United States, Spain, Italy and China have been the worst-affected. The deadly virus has its origins in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
