Ggm: Both public COVID-19 hosps operating without fire NOC

gurugram: After two major fires in Ahmedabad and Vijayawada at a COVID-19 hospital and a hotel for Coronavirus patients respectively, a recent inspection by the Gurugram fire department has found that of the 300 private hospitals and clinics in the city, 185 had not applied for fire safety clearance.

In addition, fire department officials have now also found that the district's only two public COVID-19 dedicated facilities - the ESIC Hospital in Sector 9 and the government hospital in Sector 10 — do not have the required measures to tackle a fire and have hence denied them a No-Objection Certificate (NOC).

Officials said these two hospitals did not have enough fire safety devices such as fire pumps, hydrants and sprinklers.

The recent fires in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh had killed a total of at least 18 COVID-19 patients. Concerns had already been raised earlier of the lack of facilities at ESCI hospital in Sector-9 that was converted into the first dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Gurugram. Inadequate facilities resulted in government agencies quickly turning Medeor Hospital in Manesar into a public COVID-19 Hospital.