Fire kills 13 COVID-19 patients in hospital in western India

NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire broke out in a hospital in western India, killing 13 COVID-19 patients, as an extreme surge in infections leaves the nation short of medical care and oxygen. India reported more than 314,000 new infections Thursday, the world’s worst daily sum of the pandemic. And the latest surge already has driven its fragile health systems to the breaking point with understaffed hospitals overflowing with patients. The fire occurred two days after 24 COVID-19 patients on ventilators died due to an oxygen leak at another hospital in the nation’s worst-hit state, Maharashtra. The hospital CEO said the fire was extinguished and some patients requiring oxygen were moved to nearby hospitals.