All our lives we have been taught that doctors are incarnations of the Lord. Maybe it is time for our country to re-learn that lesson.
Amid the Coronavirus outbreak in India, many first responders have come under the attack from the public. Several doctors and healthcare workers in India have been mercilessly attacked as they fight to stop the spread of deadly coronavirus. According to many reports, the first responders are being beaten up and chased away while they venture out to conduct the screenings in the COVID-19 affected areas. They have also been ostracised from their own homes and have been subjected to abuse on the hands of their neighbours because of their exposure to the COVID-19 patients.
Recently, a medical team was attacked in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Stones were pelted at the doctors and the ambulance when they visited the area to examine the possible COVID-19 cases.
Another incident took place in the Indore district of Madhya Pradesh where stones were hurled at two female doctors. They had gone to the densely populated area to check on a woman who had coronavirus symptoms. Seven people have been arrested concerning the incident.
However, immediately after being attacked the frontline workers were seen getting back to their patients and resuming duties. “No matter what happens, we will continue to do our duty,” said one of the nurses who was a part of the Indore medical team.
Seven people arrested from gurdwara after attack on police team in Patiala district: officials
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 12, 2020
Not only the health workers but the cops have also paid a heavy price of their serving the people. A policeman was brutally attacked by a group of Nihangs in Patiala, Punjab. His hand was chopped off with a sword. The group attacked him when they were asked to show curfew passes at a vegetable market in Patiala. However, with god’s grace, the doctors have reattached the severed hand of the cop. The 7.5 hour-long surgery was a complex one but the inspector is on the path to recovery. Seven people from the religious group have been booked in the incident.
Every day, thousands of first responders are fighting to eradicate the coronavirus from the country. Away from their families, putting their own lives at stake, they are working endlessly day and night. Is this the way we are paying them back? With a spike in new COVID-19 cases every day, amid the lack the security for themselves, the ‘Corona warriors’ continue to fight both their visible and invisible enemies.
As of April 3, over 50 doctors and medical staff have tested positive for COVID-19 till now in India. Some have succumbed to the virus. The total number of cases in India has crossed the 14,000 mark, and more than 500 hundred deaths have been recorded so far. The nationwide lockdown has been extended to May 3.