“The whole state system has collapsed, and who paid the price? The people inside here. These people have paid the price," said Haidar al-Askari, who was at the scene of the blaze.
Overnight, firefighters and rescuers — many with just flashlights and using blankets to extinguish small fires still smoldering in places — had frantically worked searching through the ward in the darkness. As dawn broke, bodies covered with sheets were laid on the ground outside the hospital.
Earlier, officials had said the fire was caused by an electric short circuit, but provided no more details. Another official said the blaze erupted when an oxygen cylinder exploded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
— Associated Press
Over the past seven days in the U.S., new COVID-19 cases increased by 97.4% from the previous week with 47 states now reporting an increase in infections, according to Johns Hopkins University data. But the major increase is likely due to states that didn't report over the July 4 holiday and were closed Monday, likely artificially inflating the number of new infections.
The U.S. is again reporting cases at a pace of nearly 1,000 every hour. That's more than double the pace the country saw just a couple weeks ago, before case counts began rising again.
More than 99% of deaths are now among people who have not been vaccinated, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
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