A set of old and unrelated photos is being shared claiming to show COVID-19 care hospitals in Bihar, are flooded and and inundated with water, leaving patients distressed. BOOM found that one of the photos is old and from the 2018 monsoons in Patna while the other is from the Osmania Hospital in Hyderabad.
The photos are being shared with captions claiming they show the condition of hospital treating COVID-19 patients duing the ongoing floods that have hit Bihar.
Early monsoon rains have flooded several parts of Bihar, throwing normal life out of gear. Four major rivers of the state are currently flowing above the danger levels, causing a flood alert in many regions. The state is also battling the outbreak of COVID-19 with a total number of 7289 active cases reported till July 17, with the same rapidly rising.
The photo from Osmania Hospital is being shared with a caption in English that says, "COVID Hospital in Bihar".
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The second photo is being shared as a photo from Smart City hospital in Bihar. The caption says, "Smart City Hospital Launched By Bihar Government During Covid-19 .Treatment under swimming pool."
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FACT CHECK
BOOM found that while one of the photos is from Bihar, it shows the situation from 2018, much before the Coronavirus outbreak. The second photo is recent but from Hyderabad when heavy rains lashed the city, flooding Osmania hospital.
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A reverse image search showed results to recent news stories about the conditions at Osmania Hospital in Hyderabad after heavy rains lashed the city on July 15, 2020.
Hyderabad in Telangana saw heavy rains which left one of the oldest hospitals in the city, Osmania general hospital flooded with waters entering wards and forcing patients to be shifted to the second floor. A video report by the The News Minute, showed scenes from the same hospital including a video of the same ward as seen in the viral photo. At the counter 19 seconds in the video story, the same ward can be seen with patients describing their ordeal and the same walls with green and white tiles can be seen in the background.
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A reverse image search on the second photo showed results from 2018 of the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Bihar which was left inundated due to heavy showers in Patna. The photo showing patient propped up on beds and ankle to knee deep rain water around the beds in the hospital appeared in several newspapers crediting the same to the Press Trust Of India.
The photo is from 2018 when the Nalanda Medical college and hospital was left flooded due to heavy rains in Patna
According to a report dated July 30, 2018 in the Hindustan Times, which carried the same viral photo, ICU and general wards of the hospital were in knee deep water with "small fish and insects visible in the rain water". The report also quoted, Anand Prasad Singh, superintendent of NMCH as saying, that it was a recurring problem.
While the above photos are not connected to the recent floods in Bihar, news outlets have reported worsening conditions at COVID-19 care centres in district of Bihar with moving visuals of doctors sitting atop cycle pushcarts to reach centres.
