TOCHIGI (TR) – Tochigi Prefectural Police suspect that a fire that broke out at a hotel in Utsunomiya City that houses patients afflicted with COVID-19 was possibly set deliberately, reports TBS News (May 6).
At 11:40 p.m., an employee at Hotel Maruji used a fire extinguisher to put out a burning carpet and scrap wood on an exterior passageway.
A total of 111 rooms in the hotel are reserved for patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus.
On Thursday, the hotel began accepting patients. A total of four were at the hotel at the time. There were no injuries due to the fire, police said.
Police are now checking security camera footage as a part of the investigation.
