In a shocking move, the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has segregated its wards dedicated to coronavirus infected and suspected cases according to the faith of people, Indian Express reported.

The Medical Superintendent Dr Gunvant H Rathod said two wards have been kept aside, one for Hindu patients and another for Muslims. This has been done as per the state government’s order. However, Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Nitin Patel denied any knowledge of it.

Dr Rathod said to Indian Express: “Generally, there are separate wards for male and female patients. But here, we have made separate wards for Hindu and Muslim patients.” On being asked the reason for such segregation, Dr Rathod said: “It is a decision of the government and you can ask them.”

As per hospitalization protocol, a suspected Covid-19 case gets quarantined in a separate ward from those confirmed, as long as the test results are pending. As many as 150 of the 186 people admitted in the hospital for coronavirus are positive. According to sources in the hospital, at least 40 of the 150 are Muslims.

Deputy CM Patel told The Indian Express that he was not aware of such a decision. “Generally, there are separate wards for males and females. I will enquire about it,” he said.

Ahmedabad Collector KK Nirala also denied any knowledge of the matter. “There has been no such instruction from our side and we are not aware of any such government decision,” Nirala added.

According to a patient cited in the Indian Express report, 28 men were shifted from ward A-4 to ward C-4. All of them who were shifted to another ward belonged to one particular community. Upon asking why has it been done, one of the healthcare workers said that it will ensure the comfort of both the communities.

A new block of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital was designated as a Covid-19 center for the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar zone in the last week of March. The hospital has 1,200 beds for coronavirus positive patients.

Gujarat has 650 positive cases of coronavirus so far and reported 28 deaths, while 59 got recovered.