Ensure enough PPEs for health workers: KC Venugopal writes to Health Minister

AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal wrote to Health Ministry requesting to equip hospitals and health centres and provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for paramedical staff who are at the forefront in combating the COVID crisis.

New Delhi: Congress' General Secretary KC Venugopal, on Monday, wrote a letter to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan demanding an urgent intervention from the Central Government to ensure availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for doctors, nurses and health workers, in the wake of reports of Coronavirus transmission amongst the paramedical staff.

In his letter, Venugopal pointed out the serious issue of COVID-19 transmission among the medical professionals who had been in the frontline in the fight against this global pandemic.

KC Venugopal writes to Health Minister, seeks intervention to ensure PPEs for paramedical staff

He stated, "In a worrying development, such update cluster of Transmission cases have been reported in hospitals of Mumbai and Delhi testifying the alarming failure in taking precautions and ensuring PPE. The growing number of doctors nurses and health workers with Coronavirus infections underscores the need for ensuring protective gears masks and hazmat suits."

"It is deeply regrettable that they have been exposed to greater danger during this time of crisis even as they were dedicating their life for fighting against this deadly disease. While the collective expression of gratitude to health workers was need of the hour the utmost obligation to guarantee PPE to them, should not be neglected by the government," he underlined in his letter.

He demanded that the government should take immediate measure to ensure protective gears today health workers in both governments as well as private hospitals.

"Urgent measures need to be taken to implement health protocol to avoid such a big cluster transmission among the health workers. Any failure in this direction would have a catastrophic impact on our collective fight against COVID-19 transmission and treatment," he said.

In addition to this, Venugopal also demanded urgent measures to deal with an increasing number of Corona positive cases and nationalities among the non-resident Indian communities living abroad. He pointed out that those people are finding difficulties to report the cases to the concerned departments.

He urged the Government to ask the embassies to setup proper control room as well as emergency medical teams coordinating with respective governments for providing urgent medical care to the people in need.