After a health-care worker in the district tested positive for COVID-19, as many as 32 persons who worked with him have been placed in quarantine. Swabs have been collected from these Health Department employees. Following apprehensions raised by health-care workers, swabs of nine other asymptomatic employees have also been taken for testing.
The issue has raised concerns as some point out that this might bring down the strength of the front-line workforce of the Health Department, but opinion is divided. The district authorities are tight-lipped about the situation.
‘Adequate precautions’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was taking adequate precautions to ensure that the health-care personnel were not deployed all at once on the front-line. Work arrangements were being made so that only one-third of them were on the front line at a time so that the entire force was not work-weary.
Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association president Joseph Chacko told The Hindu that they had recommended a three-layered working system for the health-care workers from the primary health centre (PHC) level so that the health-care system did not collapse.
One group of doctors, nurses and paramedics needed to be kept in reserve so that care for those who tested positive for COVID-19 was not affected, Dr. Chacko said.
At Mananthavady
Earlier, a doctor at Mananthavady and seven others had to be quarantined as they were among the contacts of a COVID-19 positive patient.
A health-care worker said all those who had completed one schedule of work should be placed in quarantine. Those working in the airport schedule were working for nearly 20 hours at a stretch. Such long hours weakened the efficiency of a person.
However, another health-care worker, who was part of the airport surveillance, said all the workers had been trained to keep their contacts to the minimum and to take utmost precaution. “After the day’s work, going home was also a risk to the family. But I used to take a bath outside the house before entering. Besides, there was hardly any time to indulge in any small talk with others.”
Health workers in PHCs and community health centres were also fully engaged with work, be it calling up quarantined persons or visiting them for any need. ASHA workers, Kudumbashree and Anganwadi workers, who are venturing out for health activities, face risk too.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said the government had received reports that some private hospitals forced nursing and paramedic staff to go on leave without wages for four days every week.
The Health Department was looking into the issue. Mr Vijayan said employers could not lay off employees or cut their salaries during the pandemic.
