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Amman (AFP)
The director and four other officials at a Jordanian hospital treating coronavirus patients were detained Sunday for deaths at the facility after it ran out of oxygen, judicial sources said.
A prosecutor decided to take them into custody for a week for questioning after seven patients died on Saturday at the Salt hospital near Amman, they said.
Public anger over the deaths led to the resignation of Health Minister Nazir Obeidat and King Abdullah II, who visited the state hospital on Saturday, ordered its director Abdel Razak al-Khashman to resign as well.
The head of health services for the province where Salt is located has also been suspended pending an investigation.
In a video posted online, a visibly angry Abdullah is heard shaking his head, saying to the hospital director: “How could something like this happen? This is unacceptable.”
Hundreds of people demonstrated outside during the visit to express their displeasure.
Both houses of Jordan’s parliament were to hold emergency sessions Sunday on the deaths at the Salt hospital.
They came as the daily burden of virus cases in Jordan increased in recent weeks, prompting authorities to re-impose restrictions, including an all-day curfew on Fridays, the day of rest.
Jordan, which launched its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in January, has recorded more than 460,000 coronavirus cases and more than 5,200 deaths.
© 2021 AFP
