Coronavirus: Warning comes amid complaints of defective PPEs being provided to staff
A group of doctors and nurses working on contracts at a municipal hospital in Delhi have been warned of action after many of them refused to apply for their renewal allegedly over defective Personal Protective Equipment or PPEs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The administration of the Hindu Rao Hospital, which comes under the BJP-controlled North Delhi Municipal Corporation, has said that the resignation letters of doctors and nurses will not be accepted and they will face disciplinary action in a letter accessed by NDTV.
The warning comes amid complaints of defective PPEs being provided to the medical staff amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the capital.
The Hindu Rao hospital is building an isolation ward to handle coronavirus patients and screening of patients with COVID-19 symptoms has already begun at the hospital.
PPEs which include protective clothing like suits, gloves and masks are essential to ensure medical staff do not catch the deadly infection which has affected over 1,800 people in India and killed at least 41 people.
In photos and videos that the medical staff shared with NDTV, the some protective gear can be seen torn while others are not able to stop fluids.
With 32 more people testing positive for COVID-19, the total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital climbed to 152 on Wednesday, the Delhi government said.
These cases include 53 people who took part in an religious congregation organised by an Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat in south Delhi's Nizamuddin area last month, it said.
At least four doctors of government hospitals are among those who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, officials said.
These including two doctors from Safdarjung Hospital and one each from Sardar Patel Hospital and Delhi State Cancer Institute, they said.