In a shocking incident, doctors, nurses and civic officials were attacked by the locals of Tat Patti Bakhal area in Madhya Pradesh's Indore during the screening of residents for signs of the deadly coronavirus infection. A mob of angry locals pelted stones at the healthcare workers and chased them away.
A video of the attack on doctors and nurses has gone viral on social media. In a minute-long video, a group of people can be seen throwing stones at healthcare workers running in light blue PPE gears. At least two women doctors who had gone to the area were injured in the attack and they were rescued by the police.
A team of two doctors along with a nurse, an Asha worker and other officials had gone to the area to screen people for coronavirus. Everything was going smoothly and they had screened one person. Suddenly, a mob of locals gathered around them and started pelting stones.
Watch video of the attack on healthcare workers in Indore:
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: Locals of Tatpatti Bakhal in Indore pelt stones at health workers who were there to screen people, in wake of #Coronavirus outbreak. A case has been registered. (Note-Abusive language) (1.04.2020) pic.twitter.com/vkfOwYrfxK
— ANI (@ANI) April 1, 2020
This was the second such incident from Indore. Earlier, locals from the city's Ranipura area had allegedly spat at health officials and abused them when they visited the area for the screening of coronavirus suspects. Most of the coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh are from Indore and both Tatpatti and Ranipura are the major COVID-19 hotspots in the city.
As many as 54 families of Tat Patti Bakhal have been isolated after two confirmed coronavirus cases reported from the area. While doctors and medical professionals are being hailed for their services, attacks on them have also increased over the last few days. Earlier this week, doctors in Hyderabad's Gandhi Hospital were allegedly attacked by the family members of a COVID-19 patient following his death during the treatment.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 47,000 people and infected nearly a million across the world. In India, the virus has infected more than 2,000 people and claimed 58 lives so far. There is no established treatment for coronavirus, which originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, and efforts are on to find a cure.
