Corpse and waste area at Steve Biko hospital hit by fire

Eighteen patients and a corpse at the Steve Biko Academic hospital had to be hastily moved from a separate temporary structure when a fire broke out on Monday morning.

“The fire broke out around 01:20 at a Wendy house used as a temporary storage area for Covid-19 medical waste and an in-transit corpse area,” said Kwara Kekana, spokesperson for the office of the MEC of Health in Gauteng.

It was successfully put out by hospital staff using fire extinguishers on site.

Kekana said no other patients or staff were injured; however, a special temporary isolation unit and a tent used for persons being checked for Covid-19 were affected.

She said the affected structures were located outside the hospital’s casualty area.

The cause of the fire was unknown at this stage and investigations were ongoing.

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