BS RAWAT
As many as 28 medical officers and medical staff of rural and urban primary and community health centers in charge of Covid-19 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, have resigned en masse, accusing the administration of putting them under undue pressure.

In a letter to the district Chief Medical Officer, the doctors said that the District Magistrate had threatened to lodge an FIR against them if they failed to fulfill their targets. They claimed the administration was blaming them for Covid-19 deaths in the district.

The doctors also asked under what circumstances Additional Chief Medical Officer Jung Bahadur Singh had died and if the administration would be responsible for it, as even Dr. Singh had been threatened with dismissal.

The doctors speculated if Dr Singh’s death was due to shock.

Dr Singh died on August 11 late night while being treated for Covid-19. The same day, the body of another patient from Ghazipur was brought to the mortuary, where they were kept in similar types of body bags. Apparently, the bodies were mistakenly exchanged by the mortuary staff.