Fire kills 7 at COVID facility in southern India

NEW DELHI, India

At least seven people were killed in a fire at a private hotel used as a COVID-19 facility in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh state early Sunday.

Chief Minister Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy was shocked about the accident at the hotel that was leased by a private hospital to treat COVID patients.

“The Chief Minister (CM) of the state has directed to take immediate steps to ensure better medical services to the victims of the accident. The CM directed the authorities to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the incident and report the incident to him,” his office tweeted.

Seven fire tenders were sent to the scene and are working to put out the blaze that started at 5 a.m. (2330GMT), according to the NDTV media channel.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the unfortunate incident that took place at Swarna Hotel in Vijaywada, in which about 7 people lost their lives. My prayers are with the family and loved ones of the departed souls,” tweeted Rajini Vidadala, a member of the legislative assembly in the area.

Eight people were killed Thursday in a fire at a private COVID-19 designated hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Police said the blaze broke out because of a short circuit on the fourth floor.

With 64,399 new cases in the last 24 hours, India saw its highest single-day tally and more than 60,000 cases for a third consecutive day. The country recorded an excess of 550,000 infections in 10 days.

Total cases is now 2,150,421 as the death toll stands at 43,379 according to health ministry data. The number of cases includes 628,747 active infections with 1,480,884 recoveries.

In addition to Maharashtra with 1,466, at least six states registered their highest single-day totals, including the southern states of Karnataka with 7,178, Telangana at 2,256, Kerala with 1,420, and the northern state of Uttar Pradesh with 4,800, the western state of Rajasthan with 1,171 and the eastern state of Bihar has 3,992.