Jordan probes power outage at Covid hospital

Jordanian security members wearing face masks stand guard at a checkpoint during a curfew in Amman, Jordan. (File)

Amman, (Samajweekly) The Jordanian government has ordered an investigation into a power outage incident at a private hospital to treat Covid-19 patients, that caused at least one death.

The investigation aims to reveal the causes of the power outage and the death case reported afterward, and the impartiality and integrity of the probe results will be ensured, Xinhua news agency quoted Minister of State for Media Affairs Sakher Dudin as saying in a statement issued on Sunday.

According to local Ammon News Agency, the husband of a woman who died in the incident said the power outage lasted for about 24 minutes and the medical staff had tried to rescue his wife but to no avail, adding that the civil defence personnel had also rushed to rescue the patients.

Health Minister Firas Al-Hawari visited the hospital and confirmed to local media that two patients had died, while the first death was recorded some 20 minutes before the power cut.

In March, Jordan’s former Health Minister Nathir Obeidat resigned after several Covid-19 patients died following oxygen outage at a government hospital.