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Relentless awareness campaign carried out by the Centre and state governments, as well as civil society organisations over the past few months to curb the stigma and discrimination associated with Covid-19 seems to have fallen on deaf ears as frontline workers continue to face the same old problem, causing unnecessary mental stress besides disrupting them from discharging their duty of containing the spread of the virus. There was some respite for frontline workers in Nagaland, especially medical professionals after the initial hysteria with several organisations and villagers expressing their appreciation for their sacrifices by sending them vegetables and other items but it seems like the situation is back to square one following the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. The recent letter of the Nagaland Private Doctors’ Association to the deputy commissioner of Dimapur had exposed the grim situation the state is currently in. It stated that workforce of hospitals in the state was facing a huge crunch with doctors, nurses, sanitation workers and others being disrupted from performing their duties as colonies allegedly disallow them to commute freely over fear of contracting the disease. Demanding the government authorities to address the issue, the association had stated that private hospitals would be compelled to withdraw all medical services and close down anytime if the situation doesn’t improve.
This is a serious issue that needs to be solved without delay. The ongoing pandemic has pushed medical care system into deep crisis across the world, including systems in developed countries, as hospitals are overwhelmed by patients and people suffering from other illness and diseases sidelined. As the Covid-19 cases increase, the number of healthcare workers will automatically dwindle as seen in all healthcare facilities, and the crisis will deepen. If healthcare workers are further obstructed from performing their duties, there can come a day when there are not enough doctors to take care of patients. The issues raised by the doctors are genuine and the government should seriously look into it. However, going to the extent of stopping medical services to hundreds of patients won’t serve any purpose. Instead, the frontline workers, district administration, civil society organisations and leaders should join hands to thwart the issue - together. Besides quickly addressing the complaints of the frontline workers, the authorities should ensure that nobody takes law into their own hands. The government of India had amended the Epidemic Act, 1867 through an ordinance in April this year following several incidences of healthcare personnel being attacked and harassed across the country. The government has criminalised such attacks and made it a non-bailable offence. Offenders can be imprisoned up to seven years and fined up to INR 5 lakh. Authorities should set a precedent by booking those harassing the healthcare professionals in different ways, including verbal abuse. More importantly, the public should know that Covid-19 is here to stay and irrational decisions will only worsen the crisis. Medical professionals have been silently fighting the disease for months now and it will continue till a vaccine is developed and made available to the masses. They need more love and support to carrying out their work diligently.