Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai unwittingly becomes a Covid hot zone after many staffers test positive

MUMBAI: Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai has been turned into a containment zone after as many as 26 nurses and 3 doctors tested positive for the novel coronavirus infections. These cases came to light from tests conducted over a period of one week.

With around 30 cases, the hospital now has more positive cases than even many of the hot zones.

As of now, the hospital's OPD and emergency services have been shut. There will be no admissions, hospital authorities have announced. Swabs of hundreds of hospital staff were sent for tests following the revelation.

Following this development, authorities announced that they won't allow anyone to enter or leave the hospital premises until everyone tests negative twice. Cops have been posted inside the hospital to restrict movements.

Hospital management declined to comment on how it spread so far and deep within its premises — how so many people tested positive. It is unfortunate that such a high number emerged from a medical facility, a Times of India report quoted a high-level BMC official as saying.

"They should have taken precautions," Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told the media.

As per the ToI report, all these infections apparently spread from a 70-year-old heart attack patient, who report came positive on March 27. The nurses attending to the man tested positive soon, after which many other nurses also began testing positive. The two doctors are also thought to have caught the disease the same way.

A blame game has meanwhile erupted — with staff blaming the hospital for failing to quarantine the infected on time, and hospital authorities denying the charges. The workers' union has also alleged that protective gears were not provided to the nurses despite them attending to suspected Covid-19 patients.