A fire erupted in the surgical emergency ward of Services Hospital in Lahore on Saturday. Around 40 patients were being treated in the ward and all of them were rescued.
The authorities couldn’t ascertain the exact cause of the fire yet but speculated a short-circuit could have caused it. However, people are confusing the situation outside the hospital with an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan.
However, every day, the coronavirus cases have been surging in the country. As soon as the footage and video of the incident came out, people started relating it to the deadly virus. That hustle and bustle situation at the hospital made them believe that it’s due to an uncontrollable number of coronavirus patients in Punjab. Many immediately started panicking over the situation.
This is not true. This video is from services hospital Lahore yesterday. There was fire due to short circuit and the ward was evacuated on emergency for some time. This is not Corona ward as well. Please delete the post. Thank you
— علی (@syedarr) June 14, 2020
A day before yesterday fire erupted in the operation theatre of the multi-storey emergency ward building of the Services Hospital Lahore. Few people are circulating the video and relating it with #COVID19 situation. Please beware of #FakeNews#FakeNewsAlert pic.twitter.com/95vrZ3nEGb
— Madiha Abid Ali (@MadihaAbidAli) June 14, 2020
IT WAS SURGICAL EMERGENCY WARD!!
first tell me the exact name of hospital, the exact ward and the date and time of the video u shared!! u dont even know that they r not CORONA PATIENTS!!
STOP LYING YOU PSYCHOPATH SON OF GOEBBELS!!https://t.co/0S09DjrMQD
— Ertugrul Ghazi (@QuestnEvrythngg) June 14, 2020
The fire was doused and the patients were immediately shifted to another ward. Firefighters broke the windows of a portion of the building to let the smoke escape. Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar took notice of the incident. He also sought a report from the provincial health minister and secretary of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education.
Lack of oxygen supply in Lahore hospitals!
Moreover, another fake news has been circulating over social media. It has been believed that there’s a lack of oxygen supply in different hospitals in Lahore. However, CM Buzdar’s Digital Media team has dismissed all such rumors and said that the government is taking an active part in providing all necessary facilities for the coronavirus patients.
“With the help of Federal Govt and NCOC, Govt of Punjab is going to add 500-1000 new HDU beds (with full Oxygen support) in the system in the next 2 weeks,” a government’s spokesperson said in a tweet.
“Definitely medical supply side is stressed but it doesn’t mean that Govt is unaware of the situation.”
?⚠️ FAKE NEWS ALERT ⚠️?
Govt of Punjab gets daily report of Oxygen supply and NO shortage reported across Punjab so farEven PM was briefed about Oxygen Supply Chain in yesterday's meeting here in Lahore.
Federal NCOC is also in contact with companies producing oxygen. pic.twitter.com/WiTuNAIIQZ
— Azhar (@MashwaniAzhar) June 14, 2020
During this time of crisis, we should be careful about the authenticity of the news, as it is creating panic like situation in the country. The unprecedented pandemic has sent even the strongest of minds into oblivion. Earlier, due to the coronavirus scare, a 24-year-old woman escaped Jinnah Hospital Lahore after she was tested positive for COVID-19.
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