Before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, attacking doctors or healthcare workers would appear in the news all the time. Doctors have even called strikes demanding that their safety isn’t compromised, but no action was taken.
However, since the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent attack on doctors, people have started expressing more outrage.
So far, there have been attacks on doctors and medical staff in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Free Press Journal compiles a list of such incidents
Indore, Madhya Pradesh: There are conflicting reports about whether anybody sustained injuries. However, the story is the same. Residents of Taatpaati Barkhal in Indore began pelting stones at healthcare workers on Wednesday when they came to conduct a screening of the area after it was reported that a COVID-19 positive person lived there. Unfortunately, they were met with backlash, which led to the subsequent arrest of six people.
Tonk, Rajasthan: A government survey team of five women conducting contact tracing survey in the Kalipaltan area falling under the Kotwali police station area of Tonk were attacked by a mob. The medical team comprised members from the education department and women, child development department. The team was conducting a door to door survey after four members of the Tablighi Jamaat who attended the Nizamuddin Margaz were tested positive in Tonk and curfew was imposed. Around 30 to 40 persons, including men and women, surrounded the team and started attacking and abusing them. The incident took place in Kali Paltan Deewani Ka Kuan area of Tonk.
Hyderabad, Telangana: The brother of a COVID-19 patient, who died earlier this week, attacked a resident doctor at Rajiv Gandhi Medical Hospital in Hyderabad. Incidentally, the attacker was being tested to see if he had the novel coronavirus.
New Delhi: Some of the participants of Tablighi Jamaat, who have put up in quarantine facility in the national capital, have been misbehaving with health care staff and spat at the doctors and nurses.
Bengaluru, Karnataka: n Bengaluru, community health workers engaged in conducting coronavirus survey in certain minority dominated areas were allegedly manhandled on Thursday, prompting the Karnataka government to issue a stern warning to the offenders.
The workers under the aegis of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) along with health officials were conducting a door-to-door survey in the minority dominated areas in view of the virus spreading through those who returned to Karnataka after attending the Tablighi event.
A visibly upset Asha worker, Krishnaveni in a video message which has gone viral, alleged that a group of health workers who had gone to Hegde Nagar in the city were 'gheraoed' by some residents, their mobile phones snatched and all of them abused.
"They snatched our bags and mobile phones. They did not let us make a phone call. I have been working for the past five years but never ever faced a situation like this, she said.
Munger, Bihar: In Bihar, Police and medical personnel were attacked by locals in Munger town when they visited a locality to collect samples from people suspected to have contracted coronavirus.
Stones were thrown at the quick response team (QRT), comprising policemen and an ambulance carrying medical personnel, when they visited the Hazratganj locality late on Wednesday, said the SHO of Qasim Bazar police station Shailesh Kumar.
