Death toll from Covid-19 hospital ward rises to two
A second patient died in a fire Wednesday in the Covid-19 ward of a hospital in the northern city of Thessaloniki, the head of the hospital’s Pulmonary Clinic said Thursday.
The second victim is a 52-year-old intubated man who suffered serious burns. The first victim was a 79-year-old man located by firefighters who arrived at the scene to evacuate patients and staff.
A third patient in the ward, a 72-year-old who had also been injured is being treated but is not in serious condition, Stavros Tryfon, director of the Pulmonary Clinic of Papanikolaou hospital, told state-run news agency AMNA.
The fire department said Wednesday it evacuated 34 patients from the Covid-19 ward. The blaze was quickly extinguished.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said Wednesday the cause of the blaze was not immediately clear. Video footage from the site showed thick black smoke billowing out of two windows on a lower floor of the facility and firefighters clambering up to the windows.
The Fire Service’s is investigating the incident.
