2 COVID-19 patients die at Jordan hospital, deaths blamed on power outage

By Laith Al-Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Two coronavirus patients died on Sunday after a power outage at a hospital in the Jordanian capital, Amman, according to local media.

The country’s health minister, Firas Al-Hawari, however, told reporters that one patient died 20 minutes before the power outage at the Gardens Hospital, while the second lost his life an hour and a half later.

He said an investigation has been launched into the cause of the deaths and that the results will be revealed within hours.

Al-Hawari said the power outage was caused by a short circuit but said it did not cause the medical devices to stop working.

According to an Anadolu Agency reporter, families gathered at the hospital’s surroundings amid a heavy security presence after local media reported that two deaths were caused by a power outage.

The son of one of the dead patients told Anadolu Agency that his 57-year old mother was in good health before the power outage took her life.

On March 13, eight patients died in a hospital in Amman due to a shortage of oxygen supplies, forcing the then Health Minister Nathir Obeidat to resign.

Jordan has so far confirmed 763,922 virus cases, including 9,948 fatalities.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara