No compromise on safety of healthcare workers: PM Narendra Modi

In a landmark step to protect the health workers in the wake of several attacks on doctors treating COVID-19 patients, the Narendra Modi government on Wednesday passed an ordinance to award a strict punishment to the guilty.

In this context, the PM tweeted: "The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 manifests our commitment to protect each and every healthcare worker who is bravely battling COVID-19 on the frontline. It will ensure safety of our professionals. There can be no compromise on their safety!"

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the attackers of health workers can now be imprisoned from six months to seven years.

The guilty can also be penalised from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.

Amending the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the government has made the attack on health workers as a "non-bailable offence".

The announcement has been made after Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan interacted with doctors and representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in the morning.

Following the meeting, Shah on Twitter said, "The way our doctors are performing their duties in these testing times is exceptional. I urge every Indian to cooperate with doctors in this fight against COVID-19."

Ever since the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19, several health workers were assaulted, heckled and even denied to enter their houses by people in their localities projecting a sorrow picture in the country of 1.3 billion people.

In one of the latest instances, a team of doctors and medical staffers was attacked in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad town when they were visiting the area to escort the primary contacts of a COVID-19 positive patient, who died, to a quarantine facility on Apr 15.

Death toll rises:

Meanwhile, the death toll due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country touched 652.

The number of active cases in the country now stands at 15859.

So far, 3959 people have recovered from the disease.