HYDERABAD: The
Andhra Pradesh health department committee probing the Swarna Palace hotel fire accident has found that Dr Ramesh Hospitals had another unapproved Covid isolation centre at the Metropolitan Hotel near Benz Circle in Vijayawada.
Further, the committee said that 21 of the 31 admitted patients at Swarna Palace tested negative for Covid-19 and only two of the 10 who died in Sunday’s mishap were positive for the virus. “Of the 10 dead, eight had tested negative. Many of them got admitted on the basis of CT scan reports,” said Krishna district collector A Md Imtiaz.
The tests conducted on the victims of the Swarna Palace incident revealed that there are variations in the results from the CT scan and Covid-19 antigen test. In several cases, though the Covid-19 antigen test result was negative, medical diagnosis found infection in the lungs.
Vijayawada police, investigating culpable homicide cases against the managements of Dr Ramesh Hospitals and Swarna Palace hotel, had so far arrested three hospital staff members. Police found several lapses like lack of fire NOC, no second exit, lack of emergency equipment at the accident site. The state government has appointed two inquiry committees to investigate the case. The report of the fire department is yet to be submitted.
Meanwhile, efforts to contact Dr Potineni Ramesh proved futile once again.
Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times...
Read MoreSudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.
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