Pictures and videos of monkeys dragging away used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits at a COVID-19 care facility in Udhagamandalam that went viral on social media and mobile messaging applications on Wednesday have increased the concerns about the spread of the disease here.
The facility where the incident occurred is a private school where around 80 asymptomatic patients are currently being treated. One patient said the PPE kits had been disposed of in front of a building as the dustbins at the facility were full.
“We did notice that the kits were not being disposed of properly and had alerted the doctors,” said one of the patients. The videos started making rounds on social media before the Health Department intervened.
On Thursday, the entire facility was completely disinfected and the kits were disposed of using proper established protocols. When contacted, Deputy Director of Health Services, P. Balusamy said there had been problems on the first day when the new COVID-19 care facility was established. “However, after it came to light that the PPEs were not being disposed of correctly, we immediately intervened and made sure that adequate arrangement are made for the proper disposal of the kits,” said Mr. Balusamy.
