Up to Rs 5 lakh fine, 7-yr jail term for attacking Covid-19 health workers

The move comes in the wake of reports of assaults on healthcare workers at some places in the country, including in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance imposing stringent penalties, including a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, on those found guilty of attacking or harassing health workers treating persons infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). It makes violent offences cognisable and non-bailable. The move comes in the wake of reports of assaults on healthcare workers at some places in the country, including in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

The ordinance amends the Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA), 1897. Under the new rules, a person can be imprisoned for a period of three months to five years and asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet here on Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 crisis: Mamata Banerjee lashes out at govt over testing kits

In case of grave injuries to health workers, the guilty will be sent to jail for a term that could range between six months and seven years, and will be asked to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. In case properties of health workers, including their ambulances, are damaged, the attackers will have to pay twice the market price of such assets. According to the proposed amendments, investigation against the accused will have to be conducted within 30 days and a final decision taken within a year…Read More

Doctors agree to talks with Mamata Banerjee; IMA nation-wide strike today

Doctors said they would meet Banerjee if their community was adequately represented, but set a condition that the discussion should not take place behind closed doors

Six days after the strike, doctors in Bengal have agreed to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a place of her choice, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the impasse. The meeting is likely to take place on Monday afternoon at Nabanna, the state secretariat. This comes as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the apex doctors’ body, called for a nation-wide strike of non-essential services on Monday.

Following a meeting, doctors said they would meet Banerjee if their community was adequately represented, but set a condition that the discussion should not take place behind closed doors. Representatives from 14 medical colleges are expected to be present at the meeting.

“All the hospitals must be well represented, including those from North Bengal. Moreover, the meeting should take place in the presence of the media. We will not meet behind closed doors,” the agitating doctors had said. Mamata Banerjee is under pressure to resolve the strike, which started when two junior doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata were assaulted after a 75-year-old patient died. One of the doctors, who was beaten up, was seriously injured and is still undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Banerjee had sought to meet the doctors on Friday and Saturday at the state secretariat, Nabanna, but the doctors turned down the request insisting that the venue be NRS. However, doctors on Sunday appeared to soften their stand after public pressure started rising against the continued strike, especially after the government agreed to their demand of beefing up police protection at government hospitals to protect them from miscreants. Hundreds of junior doctors had offered to resign on Friday. However, the Chief Minister said that mass resignation had little value.

Fighting tuberculosis: Why other states should follow Telangana and Andhra

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have thousands of unqualified traditional practitioners who mainly work within communities and wield trust among them

Health News: In May 2016, 14-year-old Yesu from Vijayawada city was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). The diagnosis came about thanks to the ‘Little Doctors’ Club’ in his school, which is among 139 such health clubs being run in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by World Vision India, a non-profit organisation, in collaboration with the respective State TB offices.

Part of World Vision India’s Focused Approach towards Childhood Tuberculosis (FACT) project, these health clubs have engaged nearly 50,000 children. High school students from class 6 upwards are taught to identify symptoms of TB–weight loss, cough prolonged over two weeks, and fever. The awareness thus created is expected to enhance TB case detection and treatment success rates in schools and communities.

When the health club at Yesu’s school suspected he had TB, he was referred to a government hospital for further tests. Once confirmed, Yesu informed his mother–the family’s involvement being crucial to ensuring that the tough and long treatment regime is completed–and his peers, as part of the programme’s effort to reduce the stigma associated with TB.

Read More: Tuberculosis