Some staff members of a private hospital in Noida protested outside a residential society, whose residents have accused them of risking people with coronavirus as its two health care workers tested positive for COVID-19 on May 7.
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Over three dozen staffers of the Felix Hospital in Sector 137 protested in the evening outside the Ajnara Daffodil, where a 41-year-old female resident was detected with the novel coronavirus infection on May 5, according to an official report. A representative of the society, however, said it was not desirable for health care workers to assemble in that manner knowing well that the sector is a containment zone and the matter could have been resolved amicably.
D K Gupta, a doctor and chairman of Felix Hospital, said two of his staff members tested positive for coronavirus on May 7 and one of them, a nurse, had come in contact with the female patient in the residential society on April 27. The nurse had gone to the society to attend to a third-stage cancer patient because of an emergency. That patient had earlier been travelling to Delhi for treatment. Now some residents of the society are blaming the nurse and our hospital of being carriers of the infection, when actually the nurse got infected from the patient, Gupta told PTI.
After the Ajnara Daffodil resident was found positive for coronavirus, our nurse was also tracked through contact tracing and other people who had come in her contact, including our staff, were quarantined and then tested. Now two of them have been found positive for coronavirus, he said. The doctor said his hospital was now mulling filing a complaint with the police over some residents of the society falsely claiming that 80 percent of his staff was infected with the novel virus.
We have a staff of more than 300 people at Felix Hospital and claiming that 80 percent of them are infected with COVID-19 is just not correct. They are putting it out on social media and everywhere. We will file a police complaint against them, Gupta said.
The President of the Apartment Owner's Association of Ajnara Daffodil, said the protest gathering was dispersed by the police soon. Who infected whom is a matter on which more clarity is needed and is controversial. However, assembling in a crowd like this and raising slogans is not desirable at a time like this because this sector is in a containment zone already and it adds to the risk, he told PTI.
Today two of the hospital staff have been found infected with the virus and you cannot stop anyone from raising concern over the safety of the people. The hospital officials could have called us and the matter could have been solved amicably over a dialogue, the President of the Apartment Owner's Association of Ajnara Daffodil added. Meanwhile, the society remains sealed with in and out movement restricted in view of the coronavirus case there.
Notably, the Uttar Pradesh government on May 6 approved the UP Public Health and Epidemic Disease Control Ordinance, 2020, which protect 'corona warriors' (frontline workers against COVID-19) such as doctors, paramedical staff, sanitary workers, and police personnel by making actions against them as punishable acts. Those misbehaving with healthcare workers, paramedical staff, police personnel or sanitation workers in Noida and Greater Noida may land in jail for up to seven years along with having to cough out a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, according to the law.
