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| Coronavirus: Ventilator fire blamed for Russia Covid-19 deaths | Coronavirus: Ventilator fire blamed for Russia Covid-19 deaths |
| (32 minutes 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 was quickly put out and 150 people were evacuated from the hospital, the country's emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured. | The fire was quickly put out and 150 people were evacuated from the hospital, the country's emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured. |
| All the patients who died at St George Hospital had been on ventilators. | All the patients who died at St George Hospital 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. |
| Russia's NTV news website reports that the fire did not spread beyond one small Covid-19 ward on the sixth floor. | Russia's NTV news website reports that the fire did not spread beyond one small Covid-19 ward on the sixth floor. |
| It quotes doctors as saying a short-circuit caused a ventilator "literally to explode" because of the oxygen concentration, and the ward filled with smoke, which suffocated the patients. | It quotes doctors as saying a short-circuit caused a ventilator "literally to explode" because of the oxygen concentration, and the ward filled with smoke, which suffocated the patients. |
| There have been persistent reports of a shortage of ventilators in Russia, especially in the provinces - as President Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged last month, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports. | There have been persistent reports of a shortage of ventilators in Russia, especially in the provinces - as President Vladimir Putin himself acknowledged last month, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports. |
| Production has increased rapidly, but research by the Reuters news agency found that outside Moscow many ventilators are old - made in the 1990s. | Production has increased rapidly, but research by the Reuters news agency found that outside Moscow many ventilators are old - made in the 1990s. |
| St Petersburg, with a population of approximately 4.9 million people, has 5,483 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. | St Petersburg, with a population of approximately 4.9 million people, has 5,483 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. |
| A police source quoted by Tass news agency said the ventilator which caught fire was new - it had been installed just this month - and was made by Russia's Ural machine-building plant. | A police source quoted by Tass news agency said the ventilator which caught fire was new - it had been installed just this month - and was made by Russia's Ural machine-building plant. |
| St Petersburg has recorded just over 8,000 cases of Covid-19 so far - far fewer than Moscow, where the infection rate is continuing to climb at over 10,000 new cases daily. | St Petersburg has recorded just over 8,000 cases of Covid-19 so far - far fewer than Moscow, where the infection rate is continuing to climb at over 10,000 new cases daily. |
| State investigators have opened a case to determine whether there was criminal negligence - either in the ventilator design and manufacture or in the hospital's fire precautions. | State investigators have opened a case to determine whether there was criminal negligence - either in the ventilator design and manufacture or in the hospital's fire precautions. |
| The All-Russia Institute for Medical Technology Research points out that there are many different types of medical ventilator, so a fault in one may not be common to others. | The All-Russia Institute for Medical Technology Research points out that there are many different types of medical ventilator, so a fault in one may not be common to others. |
| Alexei Kurinny, a member of the Russian parliament's health committee, said it was unlikely that a ventilator could have short-circuited or overloaded, and that fire safety was built into their design. | Alexei Kurinny, a member of the Russian parliament's health committee, said it was unlikely that a ventilator could have short-circuited or overloaded, and that fire safety was built into their design. |
| The St George Hospital in the Vyborg district had been converted to a Covid-19 hospital at the end of March. | The St George Hospital in the Vyborg district had been converted to a Covid-19 hospital at the end of March. |
| The emergency services sent 105 firefighters and 55 vehicles to the hospital, offficials said. | The emergency services sent 105 firefighters and 55 vehicles to the hospital, offficials said. |
| The news of the fire comes as the country is starting to ease lockdown restrictions. Construction, farming and factory workers are resuming their duties. | 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 second-highest number of confirmed infections worldwide after the United States. On Tuesday, it reported another 10,899 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to more than 232,000. | |
| The capital, Moscow, is the worst-affected area and has reported more than 5,000 new cases in the past 24 hours. |