No Protection for Indian Doctors, Use Raincoats and Helmets to Treat Coronavirus Patients
While the Indian government is not telling the truth about the coronavirus situation, health experts suggest that the number of cases in India will be 1.3 million by mid-May and 300 million in the next few months.
By Rakesh Raman
The doctors who are supposed to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in India are not being provided the proper protective gear by the government. As a result, they are at a greater risk of catching the virus.
In order to overcome the fateful situation, some Indian doctors have started wearing raincoats and helmets while handling the patients.
According to Reuters, shortages of protective health gear in India are forcing some doctors to use raincoats and motorbike helmets while fighting the coronavirus, exposing the weak state of the public health system ahead of an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases.
Actually, the doctors and healthcare workers need personal protective equipment (PPE) to save themselves from the virus. According to WHO, the PPE includes gloves, medical masks, goggles or a face shield, and gowns, as well as for specific procedures, respirators (i.e., N95 or FFP2 standard or equivalent) and aprons.
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It is highly risky for the doctors to go near the coronavirus patients without PPE. But the Indian government of PM Narendra Modi has completely ignored the health concerns of doctors.
Instead of providing the test and treatment facilities in hospitals, Modi – who is an uneducated religious demagogue – is asking people to hit their kitchen utensils to encourage the doctors who should keep working in high-risk hospitals to handle the coronavirus patients.
India spends only about 1.3% of its GDP on public health, which is among the lowest in the world. Even during this pandemic, Modi is delivering some useless speeches to people instead of strengthening the healthcare system in the country.
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The Reuters report adds that several junior doctors have refused to treat patients without adequate safety equipment. They have also established an informal COVID-19 fund, to which each doctor contributed 1,000 rupees ($13.27) to buy masks and other face coverings.
It is estimated that at present India has nearly one million coronavirus cases and thousands have already died in the past few weeks in the country of 1.4 billion people.
While the Indian government is not telling the truth about the coronavirus situation, health experts suggest that the number of cases in India will be 1.3 million by mid-May and 300 million in the next few months.
Since the Indian government is not conducting tests on infected persons, it is not possible to count the number of patients. Similarly, because of the crumbling healthcare infrastructure in India, the authorities are not able to find the cause of deaths.
Although Modi has declared a 21-day (until April 15) lockdown and curfew in the country to ensure social distancing, it was planned so absurdly that millions of migrant workers are stranded on roads because the government did not plan for their stay at the place of their work.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects.
