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TN gives 2-month extension to retiring medics as Covid-19 cases rise
Doctors and nurses in Tamil Nadu who were scheduled to retire on March 31, will now work on a contract for two month.
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday gave a two-month extension to doctors and nurses who were scheduled to retire today as the administration ramped up efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“Doctors and nurses, who are due to retire on March 31, 2020, would serve for two more months on contract basis,” Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said, according to ANI.
The pandemic has stretched the country’s health infrastructure to its limits. Last week, the Odisha government launched a massive recruitment drive for doctors, nurses and health professionals to combat the spread of the virus.
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In Tamil Nadu, seven more people tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections to 74. Five of the new cases are linked to a religious congregation held in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West earlier this month.
The Nizamuddin area has emerged as one of the biggest coronavirus epicentres in India with 24 people testing positive and nearly 200 others showing symptoms of Covid-19.
The Tamil Nadu state government said that of the seven fresh cases, five men had travel history to Delhi.
Fourteen people from Erode, who attended the Delhi meet, had earlier tested positive. Tamil Nadu is now grappling with a likely rise in infections following the return of those who attended the Nizamuddin event.
“A big group of about 1,500 persons had been to Delhi and several from that group are infected. Of the 1,500 people, 981 have come back and we are testing all of them and it is the reason for the jump in numbers,” PTI quoted Palaniswami as saying.
One person has died of Covii-19 in Tamil Nadu so far.
