At least seven COVID-19 patients died when a Jordanian hospital ran out of oxygen, with the nation’s health minister quickly fired as protests erupted in the Middle East kingdom.
The state hospital in the city of Salt had no oxygen for at least two hours on Saturday morning and people were seen entering with portable devices while people died in the COVID-19 ward.
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh fired Health Minister Nathir Obeidat, according to Reuters, although other reports said he resigned.
As relatives and angry protesters gathered outside the hospital, King Abdullah visited to turn off tensions and ordered the hospital’s director, Abdel Razak al-Khashman, to step down.
In the video footage posted online, Abdullah shook his head when he asked the hospital director, “How could something like this happen? This is unacceptable, “according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The director is understood to be part of at least five hospital officials who were arrested Saturday afternoon, the wiring service said.
“We want to try those responsible for this and then bring down the government,” said Ahmad Hiyari, one of hundreds of protesters near the hospital, about 13 kilometers north of the capital Amman.
The outrage soon sparked further protests in many Jordanian provincial towns and cities, fueling anger over blockades and curfews, which has reported more than 486,470 cases and more than 5,428 deaths.
“Down with the government. We are not afraid of the coronavirus, ”hundreds of young people sang in Irbid, one of the many protests across the kingdom that welcomes ten million people.
With publishing cables