Cops deployed outside isolation ward at Ludhiana civil hospital

Initially, the staff of the burns unit were deployed outside the ward, but patients did not brother to seek their permission and were seen venturing out in public

Police have been deployed outside the isolation ward for patients, suspected to be suffering from coronavirus, at the civil hospital here. The action has been taken following complaints by the hospital staff that suspected patients have been roaming freely in the hospital without any restriction and even meeting relatives and acquaintances.

Ludhiana, India – March 15, 2020: Police outside the isolation ward at civil hospital in Ludhiana on Sunday, March 15, 2020. (Photo by Harsimar Pal Singh/Hindustan Times)

Initially, the staff of the burns unit were deployed outside the ward, but patients did not brother to seek their permission and were seen venturing out in public.

Dr Ravi Dutt, senior medical officer (SMO), saying that they did not have adequate staff to keep a watch on the patients, stated in a letter to the civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga that the patients, kept the ward, were seen roaming around the hospital and meeting people.

Soon after receiving the letter, Dr Bagga forwarded it to the police commissioner and sought help in maintaining security outside the ward.

Dr Bagga said cops had been deployed so that suspected patients should not venture out in public during their quarantine period. So far, four persons have been kept under observation at the hospital.

The samples of eight people, suspected to be suffering from the virus, have turned out to be negative.