Haiti hospital chief kidnapped amid coronavirus emergency

The director of one of Haiti's top hospitals was kidnapped on Friday. That caused staff to refuse to take in new patients in protest as the impoverished country battles an outbreak of the novel coronavirus amid a spike in gang violence. Dr. Jerry Bitar, a surgeon, was kidnapped shortly after leaving for work at Hospital Bernard Mevs from his home. Kidnappings for ransom have sharply increased this year amid a political and economic crisis in Haiti.

The Bernard Mevs hospital is a trauma and critical care center and is not treating coronavirus cases currently. Haitian authorities have so far confirmed eight cases of the coronavirus. Haiti's President declared a state of emergency last week, ordering schools, factories, and places of worship shut to prevent the spread of the virus, closing the country's borders to people and imposing a curfew.