The Centre on Monday asked all states to ensure proper fire safety in hospitals and nursing homes, saying utmost precautions must be taken at a time when the country is fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla wrote a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories in the wake of recent fire incidents in two hospitals in Gujarat which killed 14 people. The home secretary said occurrence of various fire incidents in hospitals and nursing homes in recent past and non-adherence of fire safety measures by authorities in their respective jurisdiction is a matter of concern. Bhalla said recently six precious lives of COVID-19 patients were lost in a fire incident at an ICU ward of a hospital in Rajkot and eight people died in a hospital in Ahmedabad. "At such a crucial time, when the country is fighting against COVID- 19 pandemic, utmost precaution needs to be taken to avoid such incidents in future," he said in the letter.

The Centre on Monday asked all states to ensure proper fire safety in hospitals and nursing homes, saying utmost precautions must be taken at a time when the country is fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla wrote a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union territories in the wake of recent fire incidents in two hospitals in Gujarat which killed 14 people. The home secretary said occurrence of various fire incidents in hospitals and nursing homes in recent past and non-adherence of fire safety measures by authorities in their respective jurisdiction is a matter of concern. Bhalla said recently six precious lives of COVID-19 patients were lost in a fire incident at an ICU ward of a hospital in Rajkot and eight people died in a hospital in Ahmedabad. "At such a crucial time, when the country is fighting against COVID- 19 pandemic, utmost precaution needs to be taken to avoid such incidents in future," he said in the letter.