This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52629781
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Five Covid-19 patients die in Russia hospital fire | Five Covid-19 patients die in Russia hospital fire |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A fire at a St Petersburg hospital has killed five coronavirus patients in an intensive care unit. | A fire at a St Petersburg hospital has killed five coronavirus patients in an intensive care unit. |
| The blaze was apparently started by a short-circuit in a ventilator, Russian news agencies reported. | The blaze was apparently started by a short-circuit in a ventilator, Russian news agencies reported. |
| The fire has now been contained and 150 people have been evacuated from the hospital, the country's emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured. | The fire has now been contained and 150 people have been evacuated from the hospital, the country's emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured. |
| All of the patients who died had been on ventilators. | All of the patients who died had been on ventilators. |
| "The ventilators are working to their limits. Preliminary indications are that it was overloaded and caught fire, and that was the cause," a source at St Petersburg emergencies department told the Interfax news agency. | "The ventilators are working to their limits. Preliminary indications are that it was overloaded and caught fire, and that was the cause," a source at St Petersburg emergencies department told the Interfax news agency. |
| St Petersburg, with a population of approximately 4.9 million people, has 5,483 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. | |
| The city has Russia's third-highest infection rate, with 7,700 infected patients and 56 recorded deaths. | |
| The St George Hospital in the Vyborg district had been converted to a Covid-19 hospital at the end of March. | |
| The news of the fire comes as the country is starting to ease lockdown restrictions. Construction, farming and factory workers are resuming their duties. | |
| Russia now has the third-highest number of confirmed infections worldwide. On Monday, it reported a record daily rise of 11,656 cases, bringing the official total to 221,344. | Russia now has the third-highest number of confirmed infections worldwide. On Monday, it reported a record daily rise of 11,656 cases, bringing the official total to 221,344. |
| That means Russia now has more confirmed cases than both Italy and the UK. | That means Russia now has more confirmed cases than both Italy and the UK. |