Ludhiana Civil hospital staff stage protest over poor quality masks

The staff of the Ludhiana Civil Hospital staged a protest against the government for not providing them with good quality masks. With four employees testing positive for coronavirus, the staff feel they are at high risk of contracting the disease.

Ludhiana (Punjab): Complaining over the sub-standard N95 face masks being provided to them, the entire staff of the Ludhiana Civil Hospital on Tuesday staged a protest against the government.

Pertinently, four class IV employees at the hospital had earlier tested positive for COVID-19, and the staff feel the poor quality of masks could be the reason behind them contracting the infection.

The protesting staff said the masks being provided to them were of extremely poor quality, which in turn was putting them at risk of contracting the disease.

"We work round the clock in service of the people, but the government is still playing with our lives," an employee said.

A senior doctor at the hospital said that though they were initially being provided with good quality masks, the masks now being provided were of extreme poor quality.

Further, the doctors complained that many of the staff were not being paid enough, even though they were putting their lives at risk.

Earlier, the doctors had the hospital had even complained that the PPE kits being provided to them were of substandard quality.

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