Madhya Pradesh healthcare workers and civic officials were attacked by a mob of angry locals in an Indore neighbourhood on Wednesday, as they visited the area to screen residents for signs of novel coronavirus infection. Two women doctors were injured in the attack and had to be rescued by police. The shocking attack came two days after locals from the Ranipura area of the city allegedly spat at officials and abused them during screening procedures.
In a disturbing video of the attack, two healthcare workers dressed in light blue PPE (personal protective equipment) suits can be seen running from a small group of locals who are throwing stones and what appears to be a large piece of plastic at them.
As the minute-long video plays out, the small group of locals becomes a mob of around 100 angry residents shouting abuses, throwing sticks and stones and chasing them down the narrow lane.
At least two confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported from the Taat Patti Bakhal of Indore, one of two COVID-19 hotspots in the city, and as many as 54 families have been isolated amid heavy resistance from locals.
Indore has 76 per cent of all coronavirus reported from Madhya Pradesh so far.
Attacks on medical personnel and healthcare workers have worsened over the past few days, with doctors at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital alleging they were attacked after a patient infected with the novel coronavirus died of co-morbidity this week.
The doctors at the Hyderabad have claimed protection from the government and an assurance from Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. They have also written to the police. Reports of attacks on doctors and medical staff have also come in from Surat in Gujarat. News agency AFP quoted Sanjibani Panigrahi as saying she had been accosted while returning home after treating COVID-19 patients.
She said neighbours blocked her at the entrance to her apartment building and threatened “consequences” if she continued to work.
“These are the same people who have happily interacted with me (in the past). Whenever they’ve faced a problem, I’ve helped them out,” the 36-year-old told AFP, adding, “There is a sense of fear among people. I do understand. But it’s like I suddenly became an untouchable”.
In Delhi’s prestigious AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), doctors have appealed for help after health workers were evicted from their homes by panicked landlords and housing societies.