Covid 19 coronavirus: German doctor charged over killing Covid patients

A doctor in Germany is being investigated over the deaths of two seriously ill Covid patients after admitting to killing one to spare his suffering.

Police in Essen have opened a murder inquiry after the doctor at the Essen University Medical Centre confessed to at least one killing, claiming he wanted to spare the critically-ill patient and his family from the final stages of the disease.

Police allege that the doctor "deliberately and illegally administered medication in their last phase of life", according to German newspaper Bild, which said the deaths occurred on November 13 and November 17.

Bild also reported that immediately before he injected the patients, the doctor called family to inform them.

Both men were seriously ill before their deaths.

The hospital is a hub for the worst-hit Covid patients in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, which has been badly affected by the pandemic.

The hospital released a statement last Friday confirming the incidents.

"The Essen public prosecutor has initiated an investigation against a senior physician who has been employed at the Essen University Hospital since February," the statement said.

"There is a suspicion that the doctor administered a drug to a dying patient in the last phase of death in probably two cases in order to bring about immediate death.

"The Essen University Medical Centre immediately informed the Essen public prosecutor of the suspicion."

The hospital said the doctor was suspended.

The hospital said that they will "work fully with the investigating authorities".