Even as Uttar Pradesh reels under the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, there emerged a strange video recently that shows rainwater gushing into a hospital room from a seemingly leaky ceiling. This incidentally is a COVID-19 ward in an Uttar Pradesh hospital.
As per a report by NDTV, the incident is believed to have occurred at a private medical college in Bareilly, and officials are calling it a "plumbing failure". Bareilly Joint Magistrate Ishan Pratap Singh reportedly said that all the patients have been shifted out of the facility.
"This is a private medical College where our staff too are posted. As soon as we got to know, we found out there was a plumbing failure, because of construction activity leading to rainwater coming in," the publication quoted him as saying.
For our part, we're not quite sure whether a hole in the roof can be called a mere plumbing crisis.
The now viral video was also posted to Twitter by NDTV's Alok Pandey and shows the rather forceful torrent gushing out of the aforementioned gap in the ceiling and spraying over hospital beds as it falls. Anxious patients look on at the spectacle, and the video itself is believed to have been filmed by one of them.
"The water in Rajshree Medical Research Institute and Hospital entered due to a leakage in pipe. Immediate action was taken and the issue was resolved. A report will be sought," Dr Ashok Kumar, District Surveillance Officer, ACMO, Bareilly told ANI.
The COVID-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh rose to 49,247 on Sunday with the highest single-day jump of 2,211 fresh cases, while the death toll reached 1,146 after 38 fatalities were reported in the state. The total number of cases has now risen to 49,247.
Lashing out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said the fight against COVID-19 is in a bad state, but the CM is evading accountability by giving "childish statements" like calling it the century's weakest virus. The Congress general secretary has been criticising the state government's response to the COVID-19 crisis repeatedly, alleging that it is indulging in propaganda, instead of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
(With inputs from agencies)
