"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” George Orwell didn’t have a 21st century plague in mind when he wrote these lines in “Animal Farm,” however it seems to ring true for the practices of some states and governments as the world grapples with the novel coronavirus.
The authorities of India’s state-run Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in western Gujarat have allegedly segregated patients according to their faith, and created two separate wards for "Muslims" and "Hindus," the Indian Express newspaper reported on Wednesday.
A doctor was quoted as saying that separate wards were created on the basis of the decision made by the state government.
“The hospital has set up different wards for its Hindu and Muslim patients and divided the total 186 patients into two wards each containing 40 Muslims and remaining Hindu patients,” claimed the newspaper.
Indian authorities however dismissed the reports, calling the allegations "absolutely baseless."
"Some reports have appeared in the media that there are separate wards for patients of different religions in Civil Hospital Ahmedabad COVID hospital. These reports are absolutely baseless," the Gujarat Health & Family Welfare Department said in a tweet.
Despite the 21-day lockdown, the COVID-19 cases have continued to surge in India, from 500 reported on March 22 to 11,487 cases including 393 deaths reported on April 15, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based John Hopkins Coronavirus Centre.
As many as 1,076 fresh cases have been reported during the past 24 hours, said the data released by the Health Ministry.
