Oxygen cylinder explosion kills 82 COVID patients in Iraq hospital

Iraqrsquos Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 82 people died and 110 were injured in a catastrophic fire that broke out in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital tending to severe Coronavirus patientsA view shows the terrace of a closed restaurant on Saturday on Piazza Navona in downtown Rome two days prior to the partial reopening of bars restaurants cinemas and concert halls across Italy PicAFPNegligence on the part of hospital authorities has been blamed for the Saturday night fire which initial reports suggest was caused when an oxygen cylinder exploded in the ward of Ibn alKhatib hospital Iraqrsquos prime minister fired key hospital officials hours after the catastrophic incidentAmong the dead were at least 28 patients on ventilators battling severe symptoms of the virus tweeted Ali alBayati a spokesman of the countryrsquos independent Human Rights Commission The commission is a semiofficial body Firefighters rushed to battle the flames that raged across the second floor of the hospital Civil defense teams put out flames until the early hours of the morning Ambulances transported dozens of wounded The Health Ministry said at least 200 people were rescued from the sceneDoctors at the scene were frazzled by the chaos unfolding around them They said numerous burned bodies were carried out by paramedics from the hospital floor The fire came as Iraq grapples with a severe second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic Daily virus cases now average around 8000 the highest since Iraq began recording infection rates early last year At least 15200 people have died of Coronavirus in Iraq among a total of at least 100000 confirmed cases In response to the fire Prime Minister Mustafa alKadhimi fired the directorgeneral of the Baghdad Health Department in the alRusafa area where the hospital is located He also fired the director of Ibh alKhatib Hospital and its director of engineering and maintenance according to a statement from the Health Ministry and his office After the fire first broke out AlKhadhimi held an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the Baghdad Operations Command which coordinates Iraqi security forces according to a statement on his Twitter account In the meeting he said the incident amounted to negligenceA video grab shows Iraqi firefighters battling flames at the hospital PicAFPIndiaUS air ticket prices spiked 3 timesAirfares on IndiaUS flights have increased significantly since the American governmentrsquos advisory to its citizens to avoid travelling to India due to a recent surge in COVID19 cases aviation industry sources said on Sunday Average fare for an economy class ticket on an IndiaUS flight is around 50000 but the fares for this weekrsquos flights are hovering around 15 lakh the sources mentioned High demand for tickets on IndiaUS flights after the advisory on Thursday has led to the spike in fares they saidFive million Italians fully vaccinatedItalyrsquos COVID19 vaccine rollout hit a major milestone though it appeared unlikely the country would reach its endofmonth target for daily vaccinations The countryrsquos Ministry of Health reported on Saturday that five million Italian residents had been fully vaccinated making Italy the third EU member state to reach that milestone following Germany and France Xinhua news agency reportedProtest in Zurich against containmentAround 4000 people gathered near Zurich on Saturday for an unauthorised protest against Coronavirus containment measures police said The demonstration in RapperswilJona was largely peaceful but two people were detained and 45 others were banned from the city for a period of 24 hours they said Most participants were not wearing masks or maintaining a safe distance from one anotherNepal issues 394 expedition permitsNepali authorities have issued record number of expedition permits for Mt Qomolangma defying expectations of reduced number of permit issuance compared to past years amid the pandemic The Himalayan country issued a record 394 permits for the Mt Qomolangma the worldrsquos tallest peak by Friday which broke the earlier record of 381 permits issued in 2019 according to the Department of Tourism which issues such permits Xinhua news agency reported on SaturdayMerkel asks Germans to accept curbsChancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to accept nationwide pandemic restrictions that came into force at midnight resulting in 10 pm5 am curfews further limits on personal contacts and access to nonessential stores in regions with high infection rates In her weekly video address on Saturday Merkel acknowledged the new rules are ldquotoughrdquo but insisted they are needed to curb the spread of the virus in the country849130No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours146576428Total no of cases worldwide3101896Total no of deaths worldwideSource WHOJohns Hopkins