Fact Check: Are COVID-19 patients being segregated on religious lines in Gujarat hospital?

Claim: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says COVID-19 patients are being segregated on religious lines in a Gujarat hospital, citing a news item.

What is the rumour about?

- The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has reportedly segregated wards of COVID-19 patients along religious lines.

- Officials of the hospital are tight-lipped after local media reported the issue, but insiders said the decision was taken after a large number of cases were reported from a cluster of a religious gathering in Delhi and their contacts in minority-dominated pockets of the city.

Who started the rumour?

- Federal government organisation (USCIRF)

Rating: False

The MEA has refuted this claim

• Speaking on the allegations, Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava in response said,  

"As if its peremptory commentary on religious freedom in India is not enough, the USCIRF is now spreading misguided reports on the professional medical protocols followed to deal with the spread of COVID-19 in India."

Even PIB dismissed the report as false