Relief for healthcare workers as safety gear arrives from China

NEW DELHI : Signalling relief for healthcare workers battling the novel coronavirus pandemic without proper safety kits, a batch of 170,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) coveralls arrived from China on Monday. Apart from coveralls, PPE includes masks, gloves, goggles and any other equipment that protect health workers from the infection. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the Centre had allotted 27,000 PPE kits and they will soon be available for doctors in the state. The Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai was declared a containment zone on Monday after at least 30 staff, including doctors and nurses, were found covid-19 positive. Last week, some contractual doctors and nurses of Hindu Rao Hospital in Delhi resigned citing lack of safety equipment. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation, under which the hospital comes, however, issued an order rejecting the resignations and sought disciplinary action against them. “Kindly do not give any fund deposit for the same but make voluntary donation in the form of protective gear," Ashu Kumar Meena, vice president of Safdarjung Hospital’s resident doctors’ association (RDA), said in a statement. “The administration is trying its level best to procure protective equipment and consumables but the demand is surpassing the supply," it said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by Mint. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh and other hospitals across India are also facing a shortage of PPE. “Healthcare workers are not getting the support they need in terms of PPE and safety precautions, but they are being asked to continue working.