Srinagar, March 21 (KINS): Amid lack of protective gear, doctors and paramedics who are on the forefront to deal with coronavirus are vulnerable to attract the virus in Kashmir.
On Saturday two female doctors were put under observation at hospitals in Kashmir after they showed symptoms of coronavirus.
“Like other doctors, these did not have proper protective gear while treating patients,” a senior doctor at SKIMS Soura told Kashmir Indepth News Service.
One of the doctors is a resident at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, and another is a resident at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital Srinagar.
Shortage of proper protection equipment has been one of the reasons for infections among health workers.
A Doctor at SKIMS said, “We are in the middle of the battleground, the way armed forces are being provided the arms and personal protection likewise docs and medical staff must be equipped with who designated personal protective equipment in order to bend the curve of transmission. Otherwise be ready for the calamity which can create havoc.”
A doctor at SMHS Hospital Srinagar said authorities have failed to provide protection equipment including masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and gowns to doctors and other medical staff. “We are at the risk of catching the infection. Our two female doctors have shown symptoms as government failed to provide us proper equipments. We are vulnerable to attract infections while treating patients,” he said.
While Principal Government Medical College Srinagar Dr Samia Rashid in a tweet said, “We have more than 13,000 N95 masks 3300 personal protections kits and 22,000 triple layered masks.”
“Additionally, taking cognizance of the impending scarcity, Medical Superintendent SMHS has procured 10,000 additional triple layered masks last night,” she said.
