Keonjhar: The tight security arrangements in place at the DHH here to stop spread of coronavirus among patients was breached Tuesday as hundreds of women turned up for nurse interview.
Hundreds of women, some without masks and some with babies in their arms, started arriving at the DHH premises. There was hardly any social distancing among them. Local residents were bewildered to see such a huge gathering at a sensitive place like the DHH.
According to them, entry to the DHH has been restricted these days after a surge in COVID cases. Outsiders are not allowed into the DHH premises unless they have an emergency. Even if they are allowed, they are being subjected to thermal screening.
But all these measures were thrown into wind Tuesday. At a time when Keonjhar district’s COVID-19 cases is on the rise these days, turning up of such a huge gathering of women from different parts of the district triggered panic among the patients as well as DHH staff.
Local people had the district health department to blame for selecting the DHH premises for nurse interview while there are many alternatives places for the same.
However, district collector Ashish Thakare, upon coming to know about the situation, directed the police to take appropriate steps in this regard.
Notably, Keonjhar district Tuesday reported 77 fresh COVID-19 cases. With this, the district’s total number of COVID-19 patients now stands at 730. Of them, while 429 patients have so far been discharged from hospitals, 300 are still undergoing treatment. While the district has not reported any COVID-19 death, it has one death case due to reasons other than COVID-19.
PNN
