‘Attack on Doctors intolerable’ Cabinet approves ordinance to amend Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897

With attacks increasing on healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government has brought in an ordinance to protect doctors. 

Attacks on health care workers have been made a non-bailable offence and will carry imprisonment from six months to seven years, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced.

Safety and dignity of our doctors at their workplace is non-negotiable, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said as he urged the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to withdraw a symbolic protest by doctors against attacks on health workers who are in the frontline of the country’s coronavirus battle. The doctors’ body withdrew its protest after their meeting with the Home Minister and the Health Minister today.

Court proceedings related to these cases shall also be conducted in a time-bound manner, and have to be decided within a year.

Javadekar further stated that in case of damage to vehicles or clinics of doctors or healthcare workers, the perpetrators would have to pay double the market cost of the damaged asset as compensation.

Coronavirus cases in India jumped close to 20,000 with the biggest increase in the number of deaths in a day linked to the highly infectious virus. 50 patients died in the last 24 hours. A total of 19,984 cases have been reported in the country so far. An improvement has been recorded since yesterday in the recovery rate which indicates the number of people who have successfully fought off the illness, the government data shows.

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Read Ordinance here: